April showers may or may not flower

It's Springtime and almost as if forgiving life for the year of wear and tear that it produced, we resiliently sew hope, again.

When we first moved into our home, I eagerly joined the springtime rush of home improvement DIYers and began playing in the dirt of our front yard. I came across some ugly bulby-things and decided to toss them. I managed to throw most of them out with the morning garbage, but on day two I found a few more. I was tossing the last of them into the dumpster when my neighbor, who must've been watching painfully, strolled over, leaned in, and gently asked why I'd toss something so precious away. She then explained how the former resident had planted those tulips and that they were the envy of the entire street. I was devastated. (Full disclosure: I thought they were onions. And yes, I was permanently banned from yardwork by the unofficial neighborhood association.) Sometimes we simply don't know the value of what we're holding; and rather than plant it, we toss it away.

The gospel of Matthew 7:6 instructs us "not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast our pearls to the swine..." Mistakenly at times, we don't even recognize the holiness, or value, of what we've been given. Thank God for grace, and learning...

We didn't know it, but at some point during the night, a garden-critter must've grabbed a few bulbs, and traveling just a few feet away, scattered them with some seed along the front walkway. It was almost a year later when those beautiful yellow and purple tulips and perennials began to pop up everywhere!

With grace and hope, we can count our losses and move forward. We may sew time, money and effort into many things and not ever see the return, in this lifetime anyway. Maybe we shouldn't count it as loss. When outcomes go south, we can view that as an opportunity to gain something in that space. This mindset exchanges loss, for learning - how cool is that?

Even in the sewing, there is reaping. Spending time in a garden has therapeutic benes that far outweigh disappointment when the flowers wilt or the rabbits eat the harvest.

Into each life a little rain must fall indeed. But whether the bushels bloom or not, we have assurance in God's Word... the sun will rise again. (2 Samuel 23:4) So enjoy the paint as you lather it on. Relish in the mulch as you spread it to the brick outline. And seek God for grace when you unknowingly toss your tulips.

(Rom 5:20)

Some plant, others water, but it is [always] God who gives the increase. (1 Cor. 3:6)