He Reveals the Treasure

Today on my walk, I rounded the corner and exclaimed, "Wow! How did I miss this before?"

I was walking north facing the hills before me and they were ablaze with color.
I did not see this treasure earlier on my walk, although I was walking the same direction.
The difference was the time. Earlier the sun was not high enough to cast its light on those trees.
So without the light I could not see the beauty.

Made me think about life...

When I am looking at my circumstances through the lens of love,
Seeing as Christ sees,
I find the treasure, I can find the beauty.

When I look at certain circumstances with just my eye sight...
Things can appear dark, dreary, not fair, barren...

His Light makes all the difference.
His Light reveals the treasure, the blessing.
His Light makes the drab, the everyday, 
Into good, better, best.
His Light removes the negatives, and replaces them with a treasure.
 
Sometimes the treasure is not as obvious as my "Wow!"
When the light of the sun revealed the beauty of the leaves.

Sometimes I have to ask the Lord to reveal the treasure.

I always find the treasure when I gaze upon Him.
When I rejoice in Him ,
When I believe and trust that He has something for me INSTEAD of this negative...

He has treasures waiting to be discovered.

I don't want to miss them...

Gardening

I love the garden.
I love the planning, the expectation of the harvest,
I love the excitement and patience involved in watching those seeds sprout and begin to grow.
I love the nurture, the watering, the weeding, the fertilizing, and trimming...
I love seeing the fruit develop, watching it grow, protecting it from the weather and animals.

I love the harvest...
    the feeling of eating fresh grown produce from the backyard,
    the security of mind that this produce is pesticide free,
    the convenience of stepping outside the back door and gathering the herbs needed for a recipe.

But most of all I love the sharing!
A garden is about sharing...sharing the gifts, the bounty, the provision, the ideas, the recipes,
And learning to receive the bounty from another...

My Heavenly Father loves to garden.
He is the supreme Gardener.

Lovingly, He plants us into His garden with so much excitement.
He has great plans and purposes for our life because He know what He put within us.

Patiently, He watches us grow.. teaching us, encouraging us, cheering us on.

Tenderly, He nourishes us as we grow...
    revealing His love and truth to us,
    refreshing our spirit,
    removing the chaff,
   cultivating the ground,
   fertilizing us with the circumstances in our life that deepen our walk with Him.

He loves the process of us becoming.
He is always willing to wait.
How faithfully He protects our fruit in the seasons of drought and barrenness.
How He rejoices when the harvest begins, the fragrance is sweet, the taste delicious.
And Yes, He is ecstatic when we share the fruit, the harvest, our gifts, our talents.
Creation dances when these plants of His declare that, "God is good! God is great! God is love!"
Declaring, sharing and blessing their world, as they display a beautiful showcase of their Gardener!