The Greenhouse: Where Fantasy Meets Reality

Three years ago (maybe four), I saw an ad in a discount tool store sale catalog, and thought I'd found a way to fulfill my lifelong dream of having a greenhouse. 

To be perfectly honest, I wanted a greenhouse that was a "glass house". I imagined a lush tropical garden inside, the sweet fragrance of flowers filling the air year-round. I anticipated starting plants from seeds on my workbench, and growing herbs and vegetables, even in the winter. In this fantasy greenhouse, I'd have a table and chairs so that my friends could join me for prissy-girl-lunch-parties. The fun we would have! I couldn't wait. 

What I bought was a $600 box of parts with a set of directions that didn't quite match up. The frame was aluminum and the panels were flimsy and definitely not glass.

I was not quite ready to give up the fantasy, so I hired someone to do the ground work and gravel floor. More hundreds of dollars.

The gravel floor looked so good that I hired someone to assemble the whole mess (AKA kit). I don't want to be negative about my employee, but, to put it simply, he could neither follow the directions nor complete the project. In his defense, they were terrible directions.

At last, I begged my tall nephew to come help me finish the assembly. Unfortunately, the aluminum frame had been bent a bit during the non-direction-following days, and it never did go together perfectly.

I finally proclaimed it perfect (even though it wasn't) and filled it with shelves, a work bench, seeds, and pots. 

Then, the first storm came and I spent part of the next day picking up panels and replacing them. I put the clips that held the panels back in a more secure manner. I was sure it would hold.

It didn't. 

Two years went by. The storms came. The panels blew off. 

I put them back on with dogged determination and caulked them in place. They blew off. Over and over again. 

Finally, I wore out. The roof panels were too high and I couldn't get them back in before the coming storm. In desperation, we tied a big blue tarp onto the greenhouse and left it for the winter.

By this time, my fantasy had crashed and burned, but I still wasn't ready to give up. Yes, I have literally given the talk on perseverance.

The Hired Hand had a great idea. I should buy some tarp straps to hold the panels in place. I bought the best ones I could find, but they wouldn't stretch far enough. We were out of solutions. 

The Hired Hand finally offered his opinion. We should tear it down and burn it. I still wasn't ready to give up.

Finally, more to humor me than anything else, he suggested I try bungee cords. I just shook my head. After the blue tarp and the failed clips, I didn't have any hope for bungee cords. Since it was my last hope, though, I finally gave in and bought a dozen cords. 

I tried to attach them, but they wouldn't stretch.

I was utterly dejected. After all those hundreds of dollars, all those hours spent reattaching panels and clips, and all the tubes of caulk I'd squirted out, it seemed like I should have a better outcome.

One Saturday morning, I woke with great resolve. I would not be denied. 

I hauled my ladder from the barn, enlisted Sam to hold it, and climbed up with my bag of bungee cords. We worked for hours, stretching bungee cords, praying fervent prayers for help, and sweating as I tugged the cords and begged them to reach across the panels.

After what seemed like weeks, but was only a few hours, Sam and I were drenched in sweat but the cords were in place. The panels seemed secure.

Then, the storms came. The wind blew. The rain poured down. To my absolute amazement, the panels held secure.

They are still in place, the bungee cords hugging them to the frame. For now. Bungee cords, as you've probably guessed, are not a long-term solution. My panels seem secure right now, but they aren't.

I don't know about you, but I've found that life is a lot like those greenhouse panels. More flimsy than you expect, and apt to fly apart at the least little storm. There is nothing this world offers than can hold our lives together when the winds and rains of adversity beat down.

There's nothing that will hold us together, that is, except the no-slip grip of the hand of God. If your life seems frazzled and flying apart, maybe you need the security of the One who created this world and everything in it. The One who sustains the universe and keeps the stars in the sky. 

No matter what comes our way, our God can see us through, hold us together in the worst of times, and bring good from all the bad things we face.

Today, let's stop looking at the storms and turn to the One who made the wind and the waves. The One who calms both the storm and the child in the storm. 

Turn to Jesus and let Him handle whatever you face.

"And he got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm." Mark 4:39 NASB

"And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand ." John 10:28 esv
___________
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Frog Surprise and Having an Egyptian Heart

Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List 

You might also like these greenhouse stories:
Digging, Ditches, and Water
The Blessing of the Busted Pipe 
In But Not Inside 
The Greenhouse
Making Preparations
Answered Prayers in Disguise

#stormsoflife #disciple #greenhouse

Surrendering to God's will

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30 NASB)

So they said to him, "What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?"-for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you." (Jonah 1:11-12 NASB)

We are rambling on a side road in search of understanding about the sign of the Jonah. Yesterday, we saw that Jonah's actions spoke much louder to the sailors than his eloquent words about fearing the God of heaven. Today, we see that the sailors understood something we often do not, the concepts of accountability and consequences. They were saying to Jonah (Leanna Paraphrase), "This is your fault because of your rebellion, and we want the storm to stop. How are we going to get relief?" 

The storm was because of Jonah's rebellion. The sailors were essentially innocent bystanders in the crisis, drawn into the situation by Jonah's presence on the ship. All they wanted was for the storm to stop and the seas to calm. They wanted peace. 

The sailors wanted to "do something" to make the storm stop. If Jonah's actions had "caused" the storm to start, perhaps some other set of actions could "cause" the storm to stop. Since Jonah was at the center of the problem, they turned to Jonah for the solution. "What should  we do to you?" I don't know what they expected him to say, but "throw me overboard" was not it.

When I read Jonah's words, I'm always surprised. What was he thinking? I suppose he considered one of two things. 1) They would throw him overboard, the storm would stop, and he would drown, successfully ending his flight away from God. 2) They would throw him overboard, the storm would stop, and God would miraculously save him. Either way, there would be a resolution to the situation.

For the purposes of illustration, I am presuming that Jonah had come to the end of himself. His rebellion and prodigal flight had not worked out as he expected, and his consequences were overwhelming. He had finally come to the point of abandoning himself to God. "Throw me overboard" was, in a way, a surrender to the will of God. 

I've been to the point of resignation a time or two, and maybe you have, too. In situations so complex that I had no idea what to do, there came a point when my desired outcome no longer mattered. The most important thing to me was an end to the storm. At that point, the outcome was not as important as getting some kind of relief in the ongoing situation. That point of surrendering my will to God's is a vital step in receiving the miraculous intervention of God. 

When Jonah told the sailors to throw him overboard, they were horrified. They did all they could to save Jonah from his plight. At last, they, too, had to abandon him to whatever solution God would provide. In the midst of a crisis with someone we love, this is often a vital place for us to reach. I don't at all mean to "throw overboard" one who has brought a storm into our lives, but allowing God to use the consequences of their actions to change their hearts and lives is a necessary part of God's redemptive process. 

The sailors rowed desperately, trying to avoid letting go of Jonah. They begged God for mercy. They delayed as long as they dared. All the while, God's big fish was waiting for Jonah so that His plan could unfold. Our attempts to spare others from God-designed consequences can delay the redemption God has planned. 

There was no way for the sailors to know what God would do as they flung Jonah toward the sea and whatever mercy God would offer. Sometimes He sends a storm, but sometimes He sends the most unlikely of refuge places. That's what Jonah found. 

When the sailors did what Jonah said to do, the storm completely stopped and they understood that Almighty God had done it. They feared God greatly, and responded with sacrifices and vows to Him. God completely transformed their lives. God never wastes the storms of life. In this particular storm, he used it to bring the sailors, bystanders drawn in to Jonah's rebellion, to Himself. 

The storm was not wasted in Jonah's life, either. We will see tomorrow about the refuge God had prepared for this wandering prodigal.

For today, consider the storms of your life. How did God use the storm? Have your efforts to spare others (or yourself) of consequences delayed the resolution of the storm? Surrendering to the will of God is not an act of failure. It is an act of faith and opens up the most remarkable of possibilities when we allow Him to do all that He can do, in whatever way He chooses. 

Let Him have His way. It's always best.

Knowing Who to Trust

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30 NASB)

We're on a detour in order to better understand the sign of Jonah. Yesterday, we stopped at the point where Jonah had begun to see that "sorry" did not make it all better. The sailors had said, "Jonah, this storm is your fault," and he had said, "Yes, it is." Those irate and frightened sailors had a few questions for him, starting with, "If you believe in the God of the universe like you say you do, how could you do this?" Jonah found that his actions spoke much louder than his words.

After I posted the blog yesterday, I realized that those sailors had tried to do something Jonah should have considered. 

Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. (Jonah 1:5 NASB)

When the storm arose, admittedly a whopper of a storm, the sailors were terrified. The first action the sailors took was to cry to their god. These men were not worshipping Jehovah, but they instinctively knew that only a powerful god could save them. They turned to the god they knew best in their time of need. Some probably worshipped Baal, some Molech, or another of the gods of the time. Every man, however, turned first to that which they worshipped for help.

In a way, that's our problem, too. When trouble begins to come our way, we turn first to that god we know best. It may be that we look to ourselves and our own ability to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps". Others look to chemical aid (drugs, alcohol, food). There are some who turn to friends, family, even the law for aid. 

Those pagan sailors turned first to the god they knew. When that medley of gods didn't save them, they turned to themselves and began to lighten the load by throwing the cargo overboard. When the storm continued unabated, they realized that in which they trusted was not adequate to deliver them. 

When the storms of life come our way, we will instinctively do exactly what those sailors did. We will turn to that which sustains us in the easy times. If our trust is not in Almighty God, we, too, will find ourselves unable to weather the storm. If you, like me, have ever gone through one of those times when life is filled with turmoil and uncertainty, you know the truth of this. When my trust is in myself, I have a poor deliverer. 

If we want to successfully weather the storms of life, we must prepare in advance by placing our trust in the only One who can guide us through and calm the storm. We must practice faith in Him on a daily basis. Then, when crisis comes, and we turn instinctively to the One we trust the most, we will find an anchor that holds and help that is able to deliver.

The psalmist wrote that God is our "very present help in time of trouble." (Psalm 46:1) When our faith is in Him, that help is where we turn first. When we do, we will find His help is exactly what we need.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)

Excitement in the Boat, part 6:

But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. (Luke 8:23-24 NASB)

There can be a vast difference between the reality of a situation and our perception of that situation.  Scripture tells us that the disciples were kindyneuō, "in danger".  This was an absolutely real danger, but what kind of danger?  Their boat was caught in a whirlwind or hurricane, and was tossed about. The waves were chaotic and water was pouring into the boat, which was beginning to be swamped. The immediate danger was that the boat would sink and they would be thrown into the water. Once they landed in the water, there would be a different set of dangers, but they were not in those dangers yet. 

The disciples' perception about their situation was apollymi. This word is translated as "perishing" but, according to Vine's Expository Dictionary, it is used to mean "ruin" or "loss of well being."  Their perception was that they were about to be utterly destroyed, not just losing their life but everything that mattered, and they were terrified. 

There is a vast difference between the risk of falling out of the boat and the risk of losing everything, including your life.  In the midst of a horrific storm, they both look very much alike. Once the falling out of the boat was accomplished, the risk would be loss of life and all that was dear. The disciples were so busy anticipating the worst that it seemed to be already upon them. A boat in danger of sinking is not yet a sunken boat, but it "felt like it".  

Why does this difference in perception matter?  The action required for a boat about to be swamped in a storm is different than that required when a boat is gone and you are tossed into the sea. Overwhelming fear and misperception can cause you to start throwing things overboard and clinging to life rafts when what is actually needed is a big bucket with which to bail the water. 

The good news is that they, in their despair, took their fears and their desperate situation to Jesus, who readily intervened. It was the right decision, and might have been made earlier.  It should have been made earlier. Regardless, once the help of God was sought, it was received, and the storm was stilled. 

When Jesus spoke to the storm, He stilled the waves and the wind. He did not miraculously empty the boat of the water with which those raging waves had filled it. The disciples still needed a big bucket with which to bail out the water, and there was more water to bail because of their delaying in calling out to Jesus. 

What does all this mean for us?  It is important that we correctly assess the danger in the midst of the storms of life so that we can take the appropriate action in response. It is even more important that we take those storms of life to Jesus, who can still the storm with a word. Stilling the storm does not mean there are no sequelae with which to deal, but the timing of our surrender of the situation can result in more (or less) "water to bail". 

Dear ones, if you find yourself in a life-storm, don't wait until you are terrified and paralyzed with fear. Take it to Jesus now, invite Him to intervene, and allow Him to quiet your storm. You may still need to bail, but the sooner you invite Him into your storm, the less water you will need to bail. 

-------

Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-city-cousin-and-country-cousin.html

-------

Our terrorist prayer focus this week is Abubakar Shekau. He is the leader of Boku Haram, a radical terrorist organization operating in northeastern Nigeria. He is particularly fond of kidnapping and murder, having kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls (many who are still in captivity). Earlier this week, his forces captured a civilian-controlled town, murdered at least 100 people, and made the town his new headquarters. More than 22,000 have been killed in battle between his forces and the Nigerian military in the last few years. Earlier this week, two bombs in Abuja killed dozen more. Boku Haram is suspected. Please pray for an end to his reign of terror and for salvation for him and his men.