Gratitude Day 267

Thurs., May 9, 2019

1 Corinthians 3:6 – I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

It’s a promise that I know I can uphold. Easily. A no-brainer.

And I’m ready to make sure I do.

Our neighbor Nancy called last weekend. She and her husband Terry have a beautiful yard. You know, one of those yards that could be on the front of a Scott’s fertilizer bag? (No yard envy here … just saying.)

Hubby Rick and I have been working to improve our yard and landscaping. Last summer, we changed some of the landscaping around our house. Nancy helped by providing some hostas. There were some more hostas I wanted … but it was now July. Hot. Dry. Not the best time to move them. So, we decided to wait until this spring.

The hostas that I wanted were now sprouting in Nancy’s yard. She’s ready to have them thinned. Nancy wants to get rid of plants; I want the plants. It’s really quite a good win-win situation.

Sunday afternoon, I brought up the wheelbarrow from the basement. Yes, spring has been so slow coming this year, we hadn’t even gotten it out of the basement yet. I found a shovel and wheeled myself, the shovel and the wheelbarrow right over to Nancy’s yard. After showing me the plants she wanted thinned, I went to work digging out some of these plants. Nancy informed me that I had picked the perfect time because, within the hour, it was supposed to start raining. (Truth be known, I had no clue. I simply had waited for Rick to go to work.)

Once I had the plants loaded up into the wheelbarrow, I prepared to head back to our yard. Before leaving, I said to Nancy, “What do I owe you for the plants.”

She turned to me and said, “Absolutely nothing. Just be eternally grateful for the plants.”

Now this is the promise I can keep.

I’m not sure Nancy knows that I look for ways to find gratitude in my daily life. It’s not important whether she does or not. What is noteworthy? The most important way that I can repay her for the plants is for me to appreciate, love them and be grateful for them.

With her words, Nancy is speaking my love language. Gratitude is right up my alley. I consider it one of my core values. It’s one of those things that I CHOOSE to find in my daily life.

And Nancy is just giving me another reason to choose gratitude.

As I was digging out dirt to make spots for the hostas in my flowerbeds, darker clouds were getting closer to our house. Soon, big drops of rain started to fall from the sky. It didn’t take long for me to discover another reason to be grateful. With rain coming, I would not have to water the plants once they were in the ground. Mother Nature would take care of this.

The plants are taking off beautifully. In fact, after some rain and a bit of sunshine, the sprouts are beginning to turn into gorgeous shades of green leaves. This picture was taken just a couple days after they were transplanted. See how much bigger they are already!

While I planted the hostas and Mother Nature watered them, it’s the Lord God that is making these lovely plants grow. Faith needs this same development process. A little seed of faith gets planted into our hearts and mind; worship, reading God’s Word and prayer water this faith; but ultimately, we need the Lord God to assist in bringing the right people and opportunities for our faith grow. Our little seeds of faith can’t grow alone. They need nurturing, love and encouragement from our Heavenly Father. When this happens, it’s a beautiful thing. Something, I’m eternally grateful for. Something, I feel very fortunate that has happened in my life.

All summer as I watch these plants develop, get bigger and make the space next to our carriage house look beautiful, I’ll remember Nancy’s words. “Just be eternally grateful for the plants.”

It’s a done deal. A promise I know that I can keep.

For Nancy’s generosity and the opportunity to be grateful for her gift to me, I am grateful.

Lord God – how special for Nancy to share the most important way for me to appreciate her gift is by showing gratitude. Thank you for speaking to me through her. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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