ABUNDANCE...

Yet another glorious day of Spring, I set about my daily chore of watering my small but pleasant garden.  Albeit much less than what I was used to with a previous property I owned, this still satisfied my soul to look at the beauty of each petal which has been hand crafted by our Father in Heaven.  In “stopping to smell the flowers” I noticed upon close inspection, that my impatiens have natural glitter!  Oh, how I love sparkle!  :) 

As I drug my heavy hose along with me and continued on to the larger pots placed on either side of the garage door for a stately adornment, I observed the potato vines planted over a month previously were still stunted with sickly brown leaves.  I had tenderly cared for them with great patience, watering faithfully and feeding with a product promised to produce abundant foliage and flowering.  Everything else had taken off with a vibrant display, yet these potato vines refused to obey and thrive.  Usually they are some of the first to adjust to being set free from their tiny, plastic, seedling pot and will spread and send full leaves and vines everywhere into the spaces they are given to fill, even spilling over to other areas.  However, these stubborn vines rebelled and declined to show their gratitude for freedom!  I was beginning to get to the end of my patience with them [ impatiens ;) ]  and even spoke, “If you don’t get going, I’m gonna’ pluck you out of these pots!”  Another week, and still I was pulling off the sickly looking, brown, stunted leaves.  I finally had enough and began looking for replacements.  However, I was set on potato vines and none were to be found except for one store which had them overpriced to the extent I wasn’t willing to pay.  I decided to replace with something else and again spoke to those vines, “I’m plucking you out tomorrow!”  Tomorrow came and went as well as the following day.  With all my busyness, I did not get to the destructive project promised.  Another couple of days flew by and the next time I noted those vines, I saw the beginnings of actual healthy growth, enough of which to cause me to pause and not pluck.  A few more days, and I had beautiful potato vines worthy of my admiration!  Thank goodness I didn’t pluck them out!  In my impatience at not seeing what I wanted to see when I wanted to see it, I would have destroyed a fantastic work in progress.  

Thoroughly enjoying the watering project now and not despising any once uncooperative plants, I smiled every time I watered.  I began to notice a trail of vines cascading over the pot and traveling down the driveway.  At first, I thought I would cut that extra portion off but my hubs thought it was cool, so I left it as a border.  It continued to grow at a swift rate…actually more than I really wanted.  Now I had to deal with daily retraining it because it wanted to creep over into the garden of flowers and cover them up.

In our love for the outdoors, we enjoy watching the local wildlife, one of which is bunnies…everywhere!  These precious cotton tails are the very reason I don’t put my petunias in the ground.  I’ve learned the hard way that I would have a glorious display one day, gone the next, as they would nibble them down to nubbins and I would be left with a mulch bed with no color.   

We have one sweet little bunny who loves to sleep in our front garden bed.  We’ve awakened him and watched him stretch out his legs as we go about our tasks with our yard.  He stays close enough by us that we marvel at his apparent lack of fear.  Something else we noticed about this sweet little Peter cottontail is that he is more than satisfied feasting on our trailing potato vines of what he must consider a delicacy!  He is devouring right down to sticks the portion of the potato vine that extends past the pot and streams down the driveway.  Out of our abundance, he is being satisfied to the full.  This gave me a greater picture of what God means when He gives us abundance.   

Abundance from God’s grace and favor is more than we need or want* and it is for the purposes of meeting another’s needs.  It’s not so that we can just bathe in waste, but so we can give to others.  

Abundance, according to dictionary.com is: an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply; overflowing fullness; affluence; wealth. 

Sometimes God has us give even when it appears we have lack and that it will destroy us to give.  If that is the case and God is saying to give up even that last portion, He is setting us up to receive wonderful provision.  Mark 12:44 tells of the widow who gave out of her poverty while others gave out of their wealth.  This is precious to God and there will be times He will direct us to give even if it appears we don’t have anything to give.  Another widow, in 1 Kings 17, gave out of the last portion she had in order to meet the need of God’s servant.  Prior to her giving, she was preparing her son and herself to die due to lack, but God came just in time to save them and bless them with provision and life.

If we have abundance, which can be in finances, time, spiritual gifts, material possessions, etc., we definitely need to be seeking God about where that is to go.  If we have lack, we need to seek God about what we can “sow” in order to reap a harvest of what we need.  If we have surrendered our hearts and all our lives and “things” to God for Him to be Lord over, He will show us, by tugging at our hearts, what we are to give in order to meet someone else’s need.  It truly is more blessed to give than receive because God is setting us up to gain so much more back from Him in ways that will bless us far beyond what we gave up ever could have.

Abundance from the hand of God comes in His ways and in His timing.  It takes time for Him to grow what we have in our lives and transform it into a lovely provision far beyond what we need for ourselves.

Prayer:

Father, thank You that You are our Provider.  Thank You that all our times are in Your hands and help us to be patient in Your transforming work, trusting that You will provide.  Thank You, Jesus, that You came to destroy the works of the enemy in our lives and to give us abundant life, (John 10:10).  We surrender all we are and all we have to You to be Lord over.  Show us what You want to do through us and how You want to bless others through us.  Help us to let go and trust You with the outcome.  Amen

And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. 2 Cor. 9:8 AMP

 

*This "want" is not carte blanche of whatever carnal "want" we have but is derived from legitimate relationship with Him, yielded to Him so our hearts are in union with His desires.  He does love to prosper and bless us, but not have us be harmed by what He gives us, "The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it" Proverbs 10:22.