Go Green 2

It's still wildfire season in Florida, and I can't seem to get away from the visual of the blackened brush on my way to the grocery store.

The palmetto bushes are now a riot of green against the black and brown damage of the brush fires in my area. I am amazed how close the fires got to some buildings. Two churches in my area had the fires licking at their parking lots, ready to pounce on the roof and steeple.

The fires have revealed a lot about the areas that burned. I can see homes once hidden behind thick brush, trees and kudzu, where before you only saw a meandering driveway. I can also see the sheer number of trees that stand with blackened trunks--they look like hundreds of creosote power poles. But what amazes me most is that I can see the tiniest growth. A shoot against all that black and brown is a flare of hope, a rocket of life that is a party amongst all the gloom.

My heart soars with the verse from Lamentations 3:21-36, "This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. {They} are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

It was as if God was saying, "My daughter, how can you think that anyone could see your growth unless there was the appropriate backdrop? How would an unbeliever behold the touch of My Hand in your life, unless there was a contrast to make it obvious?"

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

I am in awe that God would use a meek mouse of a girl to shout His amazing love to the world. Being a Christian is not for sissies my friend. When you finally do make that decision to follow Christ, you'd better be ready to feel the heat of hell at your back door. Because most people can't see the obvious, it has to be as clear as the shock of green palmetto against a few blackened trees.