Growing requires Water

I find it interesting how God seems to use different instruments in our lives to teach us and how he can use people and situations to bring to light the importance of His Word. Yesterday, my husband was talking about how Gods word is likened to water in the Scripture and our Pastor recently announced the theme for our Church this year is "Growing in Grace" both of which prepared me for my meditation time today. I resumed a Bible study that I had stopped doing a while back which includes going through the Psalms and building a notebook that describes different characteristics of God. Naturally I started in Psalm 1 where I came across this verse, "Psalm1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." The Psalm is about meditation on God's word and how God will bless the man (or woman) who walks with Him. I noted however for the first time the symbolism here. The Growing tree is planted by water. When we are planted in God's, word we will grow in Him. In fact, the chapter continues to describe what it is like for the tree to not be planted in water, "Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. " When we are not planted by water, we become dried up, withered up and blow away. I can picture in my mind the field outside my house when I lived Texas. The wind would blow and bring with it these dried up weeds that would role across the open field. While on the other hand I think of the rivers in Venezuela with the lush green vegetation surrounding them. What a picture and a wonderful reminder of what God's word is for us. We can't possibly grow without His word. We must as the Psalm says " meditate day and night" in it so we can grow strong in the Lord.

If only......

Tonight culminates our 4th day in Utah. Justin and I both are amazed at the beauutiful mountains that surround us and the snow! We haven't seen snow like this in a long time! This morning however, I found myself trapped in the world of "if only", a world that can be very depressing if it is not nipped in the bud immediately. It is so funny how if only works, for instance, before we had a plan to come to Utah I found myself thinking " If only we had a plan". Then, when we started packing my "if only" became " If only I can EVER finish packing" which quickly turned into "If only we were there already". This morning I found myself caught in that world again thinking if only we were already settled in, but as I was meditating I realized the error of my thoughts. God brought a couple of key verses to my mind including Thes 5:18 "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". God wants us to be content in every circumstance we face from sickness to daily chores such a laundry. He has a specific purpose for every joy and trial we face that can either grow us toward Him or away from Him. We can choose to live a "if only" life, or we can choose to count our blessing, and name them one by one. It is amazing what thankfulness can do to the world of "if only"!