HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

The greatest gift that we can give of ourselves is the gift of love. We will be remembered far longer for the love that was shown towards others than any other single thing that exists. Our acts of love can be shown in many ways such as making special time to be attentive to ones needs, giving a gift for no special reason, saying I love you and showing it to those who are nearest to our hearts and simply letting people know that we appreciate them and telling them how much they mean to us. Love implied isn't the same as love shown, so encourage yourself to make an extra effort to let your love be made known towards everyone whom you hold dear to your heart.

I hope you are encouraged and challenged to make an extra effort each day to let the love that is within your heart be shown where all will be impacted for the better.

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” I'm certain I must have read that verse dozens, if not hundreds of times, and yet, it's simple but profound message continued to grow in my heart throughout my adult life.

Whether it's friendship, marriage, or another form of loving relations, all relationships entail a foundation built on the acts of giving and receiving. As flowers soak up the rays of the sun, and droplets of dew, offering to man their fragrant and bright blooms, so too does every loving relationship require the loving gestures of both individuals.

For five years, Tom had his eye on Sandra, a peppy and pleasant young lady who worked in his office. In the past, when Tom's schedule wasn't as demanding, Tom and Sandra shared lunches and spoke to each other often. Tom promised Sandra many a time he would take her out on a “proper date,” but as the weeks, then months began to fly by and Tom's schedule became more hectic, Sandra gave up hope. In Sandra's mind, Tom was disinterested, so there was no sense in hoping for something that would never happen. A year later, Sandra announced to her fellow employees that she was engaged to be married! When Tom heard the news, he was so shocked he turned white and had to sit down. “How can she do that to me? She should be marrying me, not him,” whimpered Tom as a tear fell down his eye.

In that same office building, was employed a middle-aged woman named Helen, who was a divorced mother of a thirteen year old boy. As Helen sipped her coffee at her desk, she reflected on the messy argument she and her son had just before work. This was not their first fight, but the result of years of lack of communication and neglect. The truth of the matter was that Helen's son never knew for certain if his mother loved him or not, and this caused much conflict in their relationship.

The wealthy, elderly owner of the above mentioned building, Mrs. Emily Hawkins, was on her death bed in the hospital. The doctor notified her immediate family and friends, knowing they would want to say their final good-byes. All of Mrs. Hawkins children came, shedding heartfelt tears, but there were no friends to come because the wealthy Mrs. Hawkins never took the time to nurture meaningful friendships.

Real Life Application:

What these three stories have in common is all their outcomes could have come out very differently if only they would have watered their gardens more carefully. Loving words unspoken, caring gestures never accomplished, time never given; all of these resulted in seeds of friendship and love being choked by bitter weeds of neglect, selfishness, fear, and all things which destroy, rather than build up.

I ask you again, how does your own garden grow?

Is there a special one, two or three flowers you wish to see blossom, and yet it never seems to grow? Then ask yourself how well you are caring for that tender bud. Is it being watered with kindness and thoughtfulness? Is the warmth of love freely administered as does the sun offer it's rays of light? Are the leaves of the flower pruned and nurtured continually with the gifts of time, energy, and self?

As I again ponder that verse which sat upon my wall for so many years of my childhood, it is my hope that, for those people who I “say” I love, be they spouse, children, or friend, that I will do my best to let my love, not be mere lip service, but to let the true heartfelt emotions which fill my heart, overflow and pour out, so that every blossom may be watered and never wither. In like manner, may the reality of God pour out into your own lives, so that your hearts can fully comprehend what is the height, breath, and width of His love.
By Melanie Schurr

Romans 12:14-17 “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.”

Hebrews 13:1-3 “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”

Galatians 6:1-4 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fullfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”