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Houseplants and Hens

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating. Spring is my favorite time of year. We have been on spring break this week, and except for one rainy day, the weather has been mild and true spring-like temperatures. This is a luxury we don't often get in Florida. In fact, I'm writing in the windy March weather outside even though I'm "indoorsy."

Spring is the ultimate season of renewal. One unfortunate detail about myself is my lack of ability to grow plants. Last year, I decided to try succulents. The frost got them, and I knew I had once again failed. On closer inspection, though, I recognized that new growth was sprouting up. I cut away the dead leaves and planted some new, smaller plants.

It's been a few years, but we have baby chicks again at the barn. Our hens have been faithful to provide eggs, but it was time to raise up new production hens to meet our family needs. Baby animals are one of my favorite parts of springtime.

Life is everywhere, and spring is the embodiment of hope and promises restored. This, I think, is creation's way of revealing what God does inside of us. The earth is filled with evidence of God's goodness.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

Jesus even commented that if humanity did not praise God, the stones would rise up in praise for all He has done. He fulfilled our hope and promise of God's salvation when He was resurrected, and we can now live more abundantly, not just because of His sacrifice, but because He overcame the death that belonged to us.

I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the LORD has done. Psalm 118:17

Winter is over. Dead things are coming back to life. Jesus is alive, and God reminds us of His promise of restoration every spring. What dead thing does God want to breathe life into for you? I'll go first. Over the last few months, I have found this call to write more difficult and my passion waning. Even as I looked on my succulents and found the newness in the undergrowth, God reminded me that He still wants to do something new and fresh though this ministry.

Maybe you, like me, need God to give you a surge of passion for the calling He has on you. Maybe you have a relationship that He wants to restore. Maybe, like our hens, it's time to let go of the old and embrace the new so that needs can be met in a better way. It may not even be your own needs, but those of others. God loves renewing things, and He specializes in making them better than they were before.

This week, allow yourself to enjoy the new life surrounding you. Let this season of  rejuvenation be a reminder of God's promise of life, and embrace the new things He is working in you.


© Jill Cook and Unbroken & Undone Ministries.  All rights reserved

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