Devotion: Bloom Where You Are Planted

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5, NIV).”

Dear Reader,
I have always admired people who God has blessed with the gift of a green thumb. My grandmother always kept a lovely garden. I can remember being a little girl and watching her as she lovingly tended her tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers, and the bushes around our home.
As my grandmother grew older, it became harder for her to get down on her knees in order to pull weeds. One day, she called me away from where I was playing in order to help her.
“Here,” she said, “Get down on your knees and help me pull these weeds.”
I was all too eager to try to help her. Sadly, I was not particularly good at gardening. With a huge smile on my face, I dropped to my knees and wrapped both of my hands around what I thought was a large leafy weed.
I can still hear her voice as if it were yesterday. “No! Don’t pull those,” she shouted with a sigh of exasperation. “Those aren’t weeds! Those are flowers! They just haven’t bloomed yet!”
“I’m sorry!” I said sadly as I looked at the green stems that I clutched in my hands, “I thought they were weeds! I didn’t know! What do I do now?”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this devotion at "Rev. Rebecca Writes: Read, Write, Pray" 

 This devotion was originally printed in The Fishline,  our church newsletter ​.