Chanie Dear,

Growing

Gardenia’s are beautiful, and they smell so so amazing. And the real beauty of them is that they only grow certain times of the year. So the rest of the year they are just this bush waiting to bloom refreshing, white flowers. As Christians we have “blooming periods” too, except when we “bloom” we do not glorify ourselves but something within us that waits patiently for the perfect time. As we walk and talk daily everyone should know we are Christians just as everyone knows a gardenia bush is what it is without the flowers. We should portray the image of Christ daily so that when something miraculous is done through us, His glory is magnified and others see His beauty. But just because we are not constantly seeing these miracles happen or seeing the Lord use us, as we grow and feed on the very living water He supplies us with.. Seeds are being planted and He is preparing us for our “blooming period” for our eyes and others around them to see what great works the Lord does in us and reveal the works that He has done through us. Gardenia’s do not need to be fed or kept up, they grow on their own.. Dependent on the ground they are planted in, the rain that pours on them and the sunlight shining down on them. We need the Lord to be our firm soil feeding us wisdom and knowledge. Our rain to constantly pour His living water into us. And to constantly be in His holy presence. Without Him we are like a gardenia bush left in a room with no soil, sunlight or rain.. We are dead, and useless .. And we will never bloom, never change and never grow.