Last year we divided and moved some plants from one part of our yard to another. They were good hardy plants, had grown quite large, and would fill in another border quite nicely.
They were plants we had not ever before divided, nor moved, and were giving it our best shot.
To our delight, they survived our attempts and emerged from under the mulch this spring.
To our disappointment, another plant did not bring the same result. It had been transplanted on a day too hot for it to acclimate successfully.
Same yard yet different results. It brought to mind another garden.
It was in the garden that God spoke these words to Adam and Eve:
“Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the[surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.” (Genesis 1:29, NASB)
“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”
(Genesis 1:31, NASB)
We all know the story. The enemy comes, weaving his lies and distortion, and they fall. It is then God speaks these words:
“Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you …”
(Genesis 3:17b-18a, NASB)
The same garden has now been both blessed and cursed by God. The same garden God created full of goodness, now is fallen and marred.
And this is the world which we now live in today.
We see the goodness in the rising of the sun, in sunsets rich with splendid color, in the smell of a spring rain, in the green of the leaves as they open each spring.
We see the goodness as we plant our flowers in the hopes of seeing a beauty and color, and perhaps even butterflies, grace our patios.
We will see glimpses of the goodness if we but train our eyes, and minds, to look for it. So let’s do just that – let’s train ourselves to look for the good:
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9, NASB)
Our world contains both blessing and curses; beauty and ugliness; goodness and meanness. It may take discipline and effort and intentionality to see the goodness. But we can do it!
Let’s train our eyes, and minds,
to look for the good,
for I promise – it is there!ÂÂ
There are days we all can feel overwhelmed. Often just doing one thing can make us feel productive and hopeful. In her post, 5 Reminders for When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed, Ashley brings helpful reminders for those very days.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Beautiful lesson here, Joanne. I love this, “We will see glimpses of the goodness if we but train our eyes, and minds, to look for it.” Such truth, we always find what we are looking for.
Thank you for reminding us God’s goodness is all around us!
I was reminding myself as well 🙂
Amen to all this! It goes well with what I posted and guess what? I am wearing a t-shirt today with Phil. 4:8-9 on the front!💕 Think God has said something to me as the day begins….repeated it twice so far.
I love when God repeats Himself to me!
This is such a great post. This world is truly marred by sin, but we still see God’s handiwork everywhere if we’ll but look.
His beauty is all around and we will truly marvel as we take notice.
One focus leads to happiness; the other leads to despair. Praying that in these challenging times, we find the blessings God leaves us!
Amen!
Such a good encouragement, Joanne, “We will see glimpses of the goodness if we but train our eyes, and minds, to look for it.” If we seek Him, we will find Him.
May we seek Him each and every day for He longs to be found.
Wonderful reminder, Joanne! Goodness is all around us and waiting for us to find it. And thank you so much for the feature!
Blessings to you, Ashley!
Yes! It does take discipline to see the goodness! But if you don’t look for it, you leave yourself open to despair. I choose to see the good. (And there really is a lot of it!)
Let’s discipline ourselves to see the good for it truly makes all the difference in our days!
Joanne, I’ve been trying to enjoy those sweet glimpses of goodness. Yesterday my daughter and I watched two young squirrels wrestle and tumble and chase each other. It was like an old Disney cartoon.
You made me think of Chip & Dale 🙂 Even squirrel antics can bring joy and remind us of our Creator.
Yes, we definitely need to train our eyes to God’s wonderful blessings that surround us every day Joanne.
Thank you for this inspiring reminder.
Blessings, Jennifer
There is so much blessing embedded in every day. God must take delight in planning the scavenger hunt!
Michele, i love your choice of words – “embedded”. He must take delight in the planning for He knows the delight it will bring!
Yes, look for the goodness! Thanks, Joanne.
Love this post Ms. Joanne. It really is about where we control our mind to focus on. We can either use our spiritual vision or our worldly vision. Choose His way. It’s when I choose to look for Him in what I am viewing that I see more clearly.
Joanne, I love this lesson. Look for the goodness indeed.