Shana Tova ~ Have A Good Year

As I was sitting on my porch having coffee this morning my attention was drawn to my "garden" which consist of 3 "plants."

From a distance they all look real and serve the purpose of adding some pretend beauty to my outdoor living area. But at a closer look you will see the one on the right and left are actually fake. A dead give away is the one in the center has new growth on the bottom and dead petals in the middle. It is also reaching to the left. Why? Because it is gravitating toward the sun.
This of course began a jewel in my mind about how we are very much like those plants.


The one on the right is So perfect it makes you take a second look to see if it's for real. Like that plant, some of us live a life that looks so perfect it makes others wonder if we have any faults, flaws or failures? We need people to think we are all together all the time because we are perfectionist and care more about what people think of us than our Creator. The roses on that plant have no thorns to keep you from getting too close or pleasant scent to draw you near. It can't really live or die, it just sits pretty and kind of makes those around it feel inferior. 

Now the one on the left is a little better off.  This plant looks more real because it has some imperfections we can see.  It appears to be reaching for the sun however, it will look however you want it to because people can manipulate its movement, turning it to the left or right, it has no roots.

 

This plant is more pleasing to the fake garden and still   requires no real investment. I don't have to water it or add fertilizer or make sure it's not getting too much sun.  My only real commitment is to dust off the leaves from time to time  or replace it when it begins to fade.

The bottom line is this plant like the first will end up in the trash when we are done with it because it has no real value. There are no emotional ties and it can be replaced by a quick trip to the Dollar Store. 

Then there's our third plant.  This guy is the real deal. It needs to be taken care of. It requires water and fertilizer. It needs the weeds, that even a store bought plant on the 2nd floor seems to get, pulled out. It requires the old petals be removed to allow new growth and to be turned occasionally so it doesn't lean one way or the other. This plant I give special care to because it's really alive and I feel more responsible for it. I want to see it grow and blossom and I check the soil to make sure it's not too dry or wet. When the sun is too hot I move it to the shade so it doesn't burn up.  I admire it with all it's flaws because I'm part of helping it grow and I take a bit of pride in the fact that I'm a part of something organic.
All of these thoughts reminded me of The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.


Luke 13: 6 And He (Jesus) told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
In this parable the vineyard owner represents God. God is the creator of the tree and He expects us to seek relationship with Him which in turn will allow us to grow fruit. Fruit He expects to see.
The gardener who cares for the tree would represent Jesus who feeds His children the word of God and gives them living water, The Holy Spirit. The tree itself in the parable is symbolic of us as individuals. 

The lesson for the individual is that borrowed time is not permanent. God's patience has a limit. In the parable, the vineyard owner grants another year of life to the tree. In the same way, God in His mercy grants us another day, another hour, another breath. Christ stands at the door of each man’s heart knocking and seeking to gain entrance and requiring repentance from sin. But if there is no fruit, no repentance, His patience will come to an end, and the fruitless, unrepentant individual will be cut down. We all live on borrowed time; judgment is near. That is why the prophet Isaiah wrote, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
(From Got Questions)

As we prepare for the Holy Day of Rosh Hashanah, Head of Year, also known as Yom Teruah which means; shouting, a blast.  It's a good time to take a look at ourselves and what kind of plant we are because I promise you Gems God will know the real from the fake.

Leviticus 23:23 again theLord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 

Prophetically, Yom Teruah could be related to our Messiah's return in which we are called to be ready in repentance, to experience the joy of His return and to give praise back to our Creator.

Like those plants He will be looking for the ones He planted, watered, fed, and promised to come back for. The ones that have strong roots in His word and give a pleasing aroma to Him for our obedience to His commands. Those who have had thorns cut off to love our neighbor and shouting praise for our very existence.  All other plants, like my fake ones, will be thrown away.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 

Gems between Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Day of Day Of Atonement will be 10 days called "days of awe." During this time we are to reflect on who we were the last season of our life and who we would like to become in the next season. It's a time to reflect on our soil to make sure it's well watered and fed. It's a time to repent of all our sins and know the Lord is faithful to forgive. It's a time to listen for the trumpet blast of Christ return! 

Matthew 24:31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^]elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Appear Whiter

I was in the middle of prayer and worship this morning enjoying my time with the Lord and I felt the Holy Spirit say "go the laundromat." 
I have learned that nothing is weird with the Lord.

I have been wanting to wash my comforter and it's too big for my washer so being the genius I am, I put the 2 together, laundromat & comforter= God's plan.
I grabbed my soap and bleach and headed to my car. I put "laundromat close to me" into my phone and this one came up.

Sounded like a happy place so I headed that way. 

I awkwardly pulled my comforter out of the front seat of my car and made my way to the door.  I noticed an elderly woman smoking a cigarette by the front door and honestly my first reaction was REALLY why are you smoking at the entrance.

Of course it wasn't this bad but I was being dramatic and when I got over myself I realized the woman got up from her chair. You know why?? Because she saw me trying to keep my rolled up comforter in my arms and off the ground so she held the door open for me!

I knew at that moment she was the woman I was going to chat with. 

After stuffing my comforter in what I thought was still too small a wash machine, I added my soap and bleach and turned to look for the woman. 

I didn't see her so I left for a while as I had a 30 minute wash cycle.

I put a timer on my phone for 30 minutes and went to a near by thrift store. Oddly enough when the timer went off and I arrived back at the laundromat there were still 9 minutes left on the cycle. Hmmmmmm  

As always God's timing is perfect and He must have decided 9 minutes was all He needed because there she was, my lady, sitting by herself against the wall. 

I sat next to her and decided not to speak right away because I learned something from a movie I watched the night before.  In the movie a woman is allowed to meet a group of Indians and she tries to start a conversation. When no one responds her guide tells her that the people don't speak when they first meet someone so they can get a chance to know them before conversation gets in the way. 

I thought that was a profound statement so I decided to try it out. 

I tried to "see" her without it being too weird. I could tell she has lived a hard life by the chiseled lines on her face. Her small amount of laundry implied she was on her own and as she shuffled to the washer I could tell she was in pain. 

When she sat back next to me I asked how her day was going.  She made an uncomfortable face and I asked if she was having a bad day. She went on to tell me she suffers from arthritis and she was in a lot of pain today. She said she thought it was the weather and I shared I battled some headaches and we got to talking about home remedies. 

She mentioned something her mother used to do when she was a little girl. Her facial features changed as she spoke, she suddenly had a lighter, happier expression as she relived the memory of her mother. Gems I felt something in my own heart move as I watched and listened to this sweet woman.

I then asked her if I could pray for her. The first thing she said was "I don't think it will help." I told her we had a pretty big God and nothing was impossible for Him.

She looked at me then turned away quickly, as if she wasn't worthy of the rest of the conversation. Then she said, without looking at me, "well you can if you really want to."

I asked her name and she said Sally.  I said "yes, I would like to."

I began to pray, using her name, I think it's important to say someone's name when you pray for them. We both kept our eyes open and looked at each other the whole time. 

I prayed and reminded Sally that our Father loved her and I asked Him to remove her pain. I could see Sally's eyes begin to fill with tears. 

Gems it always amazes me that people, believers or not, can be so affected by prayer to the Father.  His presence always changes the atmosphere.  

Before I ended I thanked God for sending me to the laundromat as I felt He wanted me to meet Sally. Sally's eyes lit up and mid prayer she smiled and said "Yes I do think you were suppose to meet me!"

We said our goodbyes and I headed home with my wet comforter.  As I laid it out over some chairs to dry I noticed it was 2 tones of white. The machine obviously was too small and I guess bleach hit more places than others. 

My first thought was the comforter was ruined but then it made me think of my day. 

I pray Sally's life was a little brighter after we met and my comforter will remind me, wherever we are touched by the Holy Spirit we will appear whiter.

Psalm 51:7-15 The Message (MSG)

Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.