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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Discern (08/12/10)
Spring has finally arrived on the prairies. What a relief to put away the toques and mittens for another year, well at least for a few months anyway. The rays of the sun are getting stronger and the daylight longer. Soft spring rains have gently watered the dry and brittle grass; within a few days what was brown has now turned green. Purple and red crocuses begin to bloom and the splash of color lightens my heart.

At the beginning of the winter I was excited about new things God was stirring within. There was a penetrating sense of promise and possibility that ignited my soul. How quickly things can change. By the end of winter I was feeling trapped and constricted by the needs of others. The joy melted away just like the snow into messy, muddy puddles.

A flash of movement catches my eye and I turn to watch two small birds fly down to bathe and drink of water collected in a muddy hole. A thought becomes captured in my mind. How often do I think that God cannot use me because my own life is too messy or muddled at times?

Like tender shoots that have survived winters harshness hidden beneath snow covered moldy leaves I sense new growth that has been obscured from my burdened view. With eyes that had been befuddled by the obvious I now begin to understand. God does not look for the pretty or the pristine nor does He wait for the perfect.

Eyes blinded by my own circumstances all I could see were pockets of muddy puddles after the storm. With fresh insight I now could understand; these two birds didn’t see the mud. They found what they needed for that morning in the middle of my messy place.
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This article has been read 1252 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
AnneRene' Capp
08/19/10
Good analogy of muddy puddles and messy lives, with God still using all of it for His purpose. Really liked your phrase of brittle grass.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
08/19/10
This is a wonderful story. I could see it as the main body of a devotion. I enjoyed the analogy. Plus I learned a new word-toques. That could come in handy the next time I play Scrabble:)
Ruth Brown
08/20/10
Nice devotion. Keep up the good work. May God Bless You, ruth
Tina Leonard
08/21/10
I enjoyed this but got a little lost on the fourth paragraph....worded differently I think it would have been easier to read.

Message was great.
Amanda Brogan
08/21/10
I can relate to being excited about God's plans for the future one instant and then getting discouraged the next. Love the hope in the end, that in the midst of our troubles, God can use us.

I noticed a few places that may need some commas, but I really liked your descriptions of winter melting into spring.
Charla Diehl
08/22/10
Liked the images of the prairie and the message throughout this piece.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
08/30/10
Congratulations for placing in the top 15 of your level.