First Flower of Spring...

Spring has arrived here in Oliver.  I know this because there is a miniature daffodil blooming in the garden.  The bed this little flower is growing in is the one I wrote about last spring in my The Joys of Weeding post.

For the past two weeks I have been meaning to spend some time in this little plot of ground to prepare it for another year.  The things I planted last year are long gone and I wasn't really sure what to expect this spring.  However, with life getting in the way I only made my way to the garden this past week--and what a pleasant surprise was waiting for me!  Not only had the flowers I had been hoping would re-seed themselves actually do that, but there was very little grass to weed out!  Considering how difficult it was to distinguish the flower bed from the lawn last year, this discovery was very encouraging!  As well, the bulbs which had been happily dormant over the fall and winter months, are coming up very nicely, including this little daffodil, the first to bloom.

The work of weeding has not only been happening in this garden over this past year, but in my heart as well.  Seeing the garden filled with future blooms and beauty gave me hope for the season to come in my life.  All the thought patterns, attitudes, words, and actions God has been pruning in my life will allow something beautiful to emerge.

For those of you who pray for me so faithfully I am so grateful for your love and support.  This verse reminds me of you and I've written it the way I imagine your support:

[you pray for me being] confident of this, that he who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

I can feel the good work being carried out, and who I really am is flowing more freely.

I attended a workshop for Discipleship Training School staff and leaders a few weeks ago.  During that

time one of the things we did was to encourage each other in prayer.  One of the words people got to describe me was "delicate."  Ever since I stepped out on my own I have been growing stronger.   Some of it is the "glorious inner strength" I have been given through God's spirit as I opened the door of my heart and invited God to help me through situations (see Ephesians 3:16 in The Message translation), however, some of my strength has come from independence, lack of trust, and shutting out a reliance on others.  This year those walls have been breaking down and I can feel a fragile, gentler side of me shining through.

Like the first spring daffodil, I am braving the cold…praying I can be used to be a blessing to others.