Work With What You Have...

You may be asking yourself, "What is THAT?"

Well, it's called, when you need a centerpiece for the table, "work with what you have".  We had some guests for dinner the other evening, and I needed a centerpiece. I do not like to use artificial arrangements unless I am desperate...and since moving to the forest I have been determined not to be that desperate and to make do with whatever the Lord provides.  This may not be that artistically and aesthetically perfect....but it made me happy because the Lord provided...Look closer, you will see a magnolia blossom not quite opened, and on either side of that are two magnolia seeds, from blossoms already past their prime.  The beautiful green, waxy magnolia leaves are freshly opened after the old leaves dropped away leaving these new ones...a part of the beauty of a magnolia tree as it renews itself each year.

 That little wisp of purple on the underside is a lonely wisteria blossom that just happened to be blooming when I was out foraging for things to add to this lovely bouquet.

This is how the arrangement looked the next day, after the magnolia blossom fully opened. It didn't stay pretty for long as it dropped its feathery covering of the seed and then the petals began to turn brown. However, I wish you could have smelled its delightful lemony fragrance as if an extravagant perfume bottle had been opened and spilled out.  This lovely flower arrangement served its purpose for the time it was needed, and I give thanks to the Lord for providing such beauty for us to enjoy.

Something to think about:

II Corinthians 2:14-16

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,

and through us diffuses the fragrance of His 

knowledge in every place.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are 

being saved and among those who are perishing.

To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death,

and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.

And who is sufficient for these things?"

Some questions to ponder:

What are some examples of ways that you have had to "work with what you have"?

What kind of fragrance am I? Are you?

How can we use what we have to be a blessing to someone today?

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