It's an interesting thing about dirt. When you're covered in dirt, you want to get it off. You're considered "Dirty". Dirty in society is not a good thing. If you were like me when you were little, you came in from a summer afternoon of making dirty mud pies while trying to feed them to your little sister and afterwards, your mother made you clean up before dinner.
As Americans we are way more obsessed with cleanliness then Europeans. They are just a little more okay with skipping showers for 3 to 5 days and being a little dirty.
Not me.
No, I shower almost every day if I can help it. I love the feeling of being clean. (Sports, camping and a muddy football pitch excluded.) However, as I was thinking about crocuses and flowers in general, I was thinking how odd it seems that something so beautiful could come out of something so, well, dirty.
God chose to make flowers grow not out of water or some sort of clean substance, but from dirt.
Sometimes the only way you can grow in your walk with the Lord is through the dirt or mess that has become your life. I would often find myself crying out to God, "Lord what a mess my life is! How is this ever going to be okay?" It's rough when things seem hopeless, messy or just plain dirty.
Then I realized that the Lord knew what He was doing when He invented flowers. I think He wanted me to notice that without the dirt, the beauty that becomes the flower would never flourish without the perfect setting of the dirt to cause it to grow.
I guess that's what Paul meant when he said:
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." -Romans 5:3-5
I find those words so comforting as I have experienced seasons of "Sackcloth and Ashes" so to speak and one knows that in seasons such as those, you feel anything but clean.
But to everything there is a season...and the Lord is faithful to always bring the rain and through the dirt the flower grows. So let Him Rein in your hearts and minds today and He will wash away the filth from the daughters of Zion. (Isaiah 4:4)
3 comments:
I *love* this, Colleen! I need to be reminded of this again & again. That God can make beauty push through the dirt & blossom.
I never thought of it that way before. I know how much I love the look of good black earth, but I never put the dirt in dirty before. How clever of you. What a great observance. Now tell me, how do we deal with "dish the dirt"??Ah, another observation!!
I linked over here from Klay's site where she has you highlighted today (or yesterday). Good thought about growing through the "dirt" of life. Pain and trials can encourage our growth if we can see God's hand in them and his protection over us.
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