....simple as a weed....

I decided I would draw this out on my iPod since I can't actually take a picture of one this time of year. If you can't tell through my beautiful artistic drawing... This is a dandelion:

The dandelion is honestly such a beautiful flower... er... weed. Have you ever truly taken a look at a dandelion? Have you ever examined the true beauty in a dandelion? Look at one. Find a dandelion when the summertime comes around. Check out the detail put into it. All these simple... small... delicate petals... in a WEED!!! The first time this really hit I was so astonished by our God. God knew these dandelions would be something people despised. Something people would make a major effort in keeping off their lawns. Yet through all of this... He put so much detail into this flower. If God puts that much effort and detail into something that we'd simply dispose of... How much effort is put into us?! How many more details are there that God used to create us?! I mean just really think about it... just let it really sink in. If God cares so much about that flower... that weed... how much do you think He cares for the people He created to worship Him? The people He created to have a realationship with. He cares about the smallest things. He placed those dreams inside our hearts... Those visions in our minds. Joel 2:28 says "And I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." It's God that puts those visions and dreams in us. He is the one who plants all those little details throughout our lives that sets us up for the next step. It's all those little details... those little petals... that make up our beautiful, intricately detailed life. I don't know about you... but when I really start to think about it... I am just astonished. I'm gonna have to say I have a God who cares a whole lot about me and what Hes got planned for my life. Take time to look at all the small things we seem to pass up. The things that 'just happened'... those are those little things that helped you get to where you are now. And if you're not in a great place... look at the little things that are so great... there is always something. Our God is always taking care of us. :)

...life lessons in the little things...

So I decided I wanted to start blogging... mainly because I'm always getting these little revelations and want to share them. God is always showing me so many cool little things... I've so many already. Who knows... maybe this blog will end up being a little sermon site... haha. I'll be trying to figure out what to preach on and just go grab one of my blogs. =) God shows me things in the most random situations... pictures.... people... videos..... what have you. I wanna write em down and maybe you'll get something out of it too! 

Here is one of my favorite photos... I took it way back in the day... probably about 2005... not actually that long ago. =) Anyways... There is this old old barbeque in our backyard. Apparently my great grandfather built it. As long as I can remember my sister and I sat on this thing and played on it and around it. Using it to hold as a wall to our forts. I never saw it used as a barbeque. But my dad remembers days of it being used to make burgers and such. Anyways... as I grew older the bricks began to decay and the center began to fall out. We could no longer sit on it or jump off it because it may just fall apart under us. It sat there.... alone.... dying.... not being used for anything. Simply taking up space in the backyard. Until one sunny fall day when I stepped outside.... and there were these flowers.... spilling out from the center of this old, falling apart, brick barbeque. What true beauty this was. This barbeque that sat there.... thought to never be used again... was now filled with some of the most simple, beautiful creation on God's earth, flowers.

The reason this sticks out to me so much now is because I believe it pertains to our life in so many ways! As we grow from a small child to an elder we pass through many stages. We walk through so many doors God opens for us. We don't have the same purpose from beginning to end. We're used for so many different things. There are probably times where we feel like we're totally useless... like we're stuck in between here and there... like we're just waiting, wondering, if that next goal and dream is just around the corner. At those times that we feel we can no longer be used for anything... whether it be because we've messed up... or we've just grown old and tired... we don't realize that inside us a seed has been planted for another new beginning. Our focus is shifting... we're being used as a different vessel. And most times we'll be used in ways one would never expect.... just like this barbeque.... going from being used to make delicious lunches and dinners.... to being used as a play tower, to jump off and rely on as a sturdy wall... to being used as a flower pot. Of all things.... a flower pot... something to bring such beauty to our backyard landscape. 

So whether you're just beginning... or you're between here and there... know you've got a purpose. Know there is something inside... something.... that is beautiful.