This summer, in my humble sized backyard, M planted vegetables seeds in my flower pots, buried sunflower seeds in front of my fence, and covered up pumpkin seeds in my modest garden. Labeled stakes were set in the dirt to remind us what sprouts to expect.
Whenever I looked out my windows, or wandered into my backyard, I checked for any signs of stems busting through the soil. It didn’t take long for the pumpkin seeds to sprout leafy plants, and sunflower stems to shoot upwards, but the pots stayed curiously empty.
Ah, your lettuce, beets and peas are coming up! M said to me one day.
Yet, the next time he visited, he saw no progress, and the lettuce chewed away. You have a critters, he hypothesized, correctly. But the pumpkins and sunflowers are raised high enough to be safe.
So, I filled my pots with seeds I know grow—pansies, petunias, and allysum, hardy flowers for our northern hot summer days and cooler nights.
This is what the hardy do. There is a hardiness in each of us that finds the way to grow.
When we look at our unsprouted dreams and chewed away plans, we keep on for we know God has a good plan for our life.
When we grow higher in our knowledge of His ways, we know we can overcome what tries to tear us down.
When we plant what is known truth in our minds, souls, and hearts, we rest easy because we know God is good.
We are meant to thrive even when life is not going as we thought.
God has A Good Plan for Our Lives
He who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phillippians 1:6 NIV
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3
God Made Us to Overcome
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. And when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can endure it.
1 Corinthian 10:13
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
God is Good
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
Psalm 145:9
What God promises are you growing and rejoicing in today?
God is good even when critters eat our veggies!
Ha ha! Yes, ’cause God even made the “critters.”
This is such an inspiring post, Lynn. I’m thankful I can remain at peace knowing I’m able to overcome any obstacle that crosses my narrow path. Thanks for the reminder.❤️
Jill, you’ve reminded me that it is a narrow path we walk! I’ll be keeping that in mind, too, as I am taking action that is not on the well-trodden path and out of my comfort zone! Thank YOU!
Love these encouragements, Lynn, and of course your photography 😊
Thank you, Pam! I’ll need to get to the places where you also have been for photography! I was in Vermont when I was very young, and would like to explore the area again. It is on the bucket list!
We’ve been there several times in peak color and it’s amazing. I have used some of those pics when they fit with a post. Watkins Glen, NY, is a great photo place as well. We stopped there the last time we were in VT. (We’re Ohioans.)
Wonderful reminders, Lynn, to trust our Overcoming God to help us overcome by remembering, “God is good and He has a good plan for our life.”
Oh, I like that Lisa–“our Overcoming God.” Have a blessed day!
Lynn, this is exactly what I needed to read today. I wrote about my lack of progress on my dreams and taking a fork in the road this week. https://laurensparks.net/2022/07/rest-my-word-of-the-year-is-hard/ Thank you for linking up with Grace and Truth.
I am glad this encouraged you today, Lauren! I’ve experienced “lack of progress” too, and it can be frustrating. But maybe it is telling us more? I think God does force pivots sometimes, to get us where He knows we need to be. May you trust His timing, and see progress on peace and harmony in your life!
Thank you Lynn for this much needed encouragement today. At times life can feel defeating or a bit frustrating, but God wastes none of the moments of our lives, and I am thankful for that in the hard seasons!
Amen! He wastes none of the moments (even though we may not understand, we can trust His absolute big picture timing). Thanks for your thoughts here, Donna!
I agree! There’s a hardiness in us that makes us grow through what we are going through.
So true! Growing is the key point of life, isn’t it? It can hurt, but trusting in His big picture of the world makes the traveling through endurable and even a blessing when our eyes stay fixed on Him.
Thank you for these soul-refreshing reflections and photos, Lynn! “When we look at our unsprouted dreams and chewed away plans, we keep on for we know God has a good plan for our life.” Such an encouraging reminder! Love and blessings to you!
I totally depend on knowing for sure that God is good! It helps everything else eventually fall into place (even when I can’t see it). Thanks for this encouragement, Lynn.
“When we look at our unsprouted dreams and chewed away plans, we keep on for we know God has a good plan for our life.” Amen! Keep planting. What is meant to grow, will most certainly germinate, sprout and flourish for His glory. Our job is to keep planting, by faith. Thank you, Lynn!
Lynn, what a beautiful reminder about God and about us. I needed your words today, thank you. I hope you’ll soon be enjoying your pumpkins and sunflower seeds. I had seeds that didn’t sprout this year either. Sigh. So, I bought new seeds and tried again. 🙂 That worked.