I read these words while sitting among remains of dying lilac blooms, but with the rest of summer on the cusp of its wild verdant growth:

“Glorifying and enjoying Me is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. Give up your striving to keep everything under control — an impossible task and a waste of precious energy.”

 (Excerpted from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

Here in the upper Midwest, the growing season might be short, but it surely hits hard and strong when the heat finally breaks through winter’s tight grasp.

I can’t control this season anymore than I can control anything else, as I am reminded again. My life has not been a neatly planted hedge of planned events; rather, a messy string of occurrences or mistakes I have caused, which the Lord is using to graciously teach me what He wants me to know. Anything that has happened out of my control is still in the Lord’s hands as He teaches. Thankfully, I don’t exist in a world devoid of spiritual abundance– He is there, always, offering with open hands what the soul desperately needs.

If winter reminds me of that deep void in the soul, summer reminds me of what is possible with God. Summer shows me what seeds of faith can become– flowers and fruit. A life hidden with God results in beauty and wisdom and grace (the flowers and the fruit).

A seed planted does not strive against the soil. It does not jump out of the ground and transplant itself elsewhere. It does not fight against the roots that will soon sprout from its coat. It simply lives, grows, and thrives, nourished by the soil and its environment.

We are like seeds planted by a Master, connected to a rich vine and a water-source that never runs dry. We, like seeds, have no need to strive for tomorrow, or to strain for control.

***

Sharing with Emily at Imperfect Prose and Laura at The Wellspring