Spiritual Lessons in Nature

I'm going to start this post with a horrible thing that happened and the spiritual lessons that God showed me in the healing process. I'm going to be very transparent and, I hope, that you'll take something wonderful away from a horrible happening. Today started as any other day. I got up, I turned on the hot water in the shower, I stepped into the shower and grabbed the cold water knob and got the shock of my life! LITERALLY! 240 volts of electricity seized my body. Somehow...GOD...I was able to scream, which brought Brett running. Somehow...GOD...I was released from the hold before I lost consciousness. I will be honest, it scared the living daylights out of me. It took me nearly an hour to stop crying and that was only until someone asked "how are you." How am I?! Well...I'm living and that's good but I'm also terrified, angry, frustrated, and emotional! 

Now my days on Wednesday are usually spent out with some wonderful ladies getting food ready to feed children, but today that was not to be. God and I needed to talk!! My Father is good and the enemy is bad and I needed to hear from my Father. I'm so glad that my friend Kacy had the foresight to say "you need to stay back and you need to talk with God," because she was right! So I headed off to the Botanical Gardens, where I knew I could find a quiet place and lean into my Father and His love. I'm going to share with you some insights that He shared with me. 

It all started with this. I don't know if you can tell or not, but this tree has another tree, a different species, growing out of it. Now in the rain forest, this is not a problem because they feed one another. However, if you look at this the way the Lord showed me, you can see the following. First, we are the tree. We are to be like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper. Psalm 1:3 OR They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. Isaiah 61:3b What the Lord showed me about this, and how it pertains to the events of the morning, is this...that second species is a parasite. It's not supposed to be there. It represents things like fear, anger, frustration, and unforgiveness. These parasites wants to suck out all the nutrients of the Word that have been planted in our tree. Nutrients like trust, peace, joy, and forgiveness. The thing about parasites is that they start out small and you hardly notice them but then, as time goes on, they start to grow and they start to make you question God's goodness, mercy, grace, love, compassion, peace, and joy. There's only one way to kill a parasite like fear and its to trust in the Word and the goodness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Only one way to kill a frustrated parasite and that's leaning into Gods peace. The ONLY way to kill any of the enemies parasites are through the Word of God! Lean into Him and His Word an the parasite must die because it can't survive on the Word!

Do you see the thorns that are on this tree?!?! This limb was hanging right where I needed to place my hand in order to cross over some wet stones. Had I not looked before I reached I could have punctured my hand. I believe The Lord was showing me to look before I just blindly trust someone or something. This branch represents those people that just want to puncture you and leave wounds instead of helping you through and over the slick stones of life. Be discerning of those that you trust with your whole heart. 

Stagnate water is dirty, smelly, and lifeless. I encourage you not to get stagnant in reading your Bible because that is where we learn the lessons of Jesus. Don't get stagnant in your prayer life because you don't know who your prayers are covering. Don't get stagnant in your giving, your worship, or your fellowship with other believers. If the enemy can get you comfortable, he will, and then suddenly you're stagnant and when you're stagnant you're lifeless. 

Be so full of God that you splash out on everyone around you the way a waterfall splashes over rocks. Be full of His joy, His peace, His love, His mercy...be Full of HIM...so that those around you can't help but get wet with Him. 

Last one!

This picture should be pretty easy to understand...the way of The Lord is the narrow way. This is the place where you must learn to follow Jesus and trust that He really knows where you're going. This is the place that, even when you have the fright of your life, you can say I WILL TRUST YOU!! This is the place where you lean fully into scripture like Isaiah 41:8-10 I pulled you in from all over the world, called you in from every dark corner of the earth, telling you, "you're My servant, serving on My side. I've picked you. I haven't dropped you. Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you." Message