Just before our crazy lockdown kicked in near the end of March, my clever husband decided to do some planting. He put in a lovely veggie patch that gave us some wonderful fresh veggies over the next few weeks. He also planted a small granadilla bush to creep up the beams of our veranda. He has faithfully been tending to it over the last 5 months, readjusting it's every curling frond to climb in the right direction. To be honest, I haven't taken too much notice of how much it's grown until I was having a cup of tea with a friend last week. The first thing she noticed when she walked through our front gate was the creeper. I was taken aback when I saw it through her eyes. Because the growth had been gradually taking place in front of me every day, I lost sight of just how quickly it was actually growing. Her surprise at seeing the change in just a few short months gave me fresh eyes when I looked at it. (It's a little like those facebook memories that pop up when you have kids. All of a sudden you realise how much they have grown and blossomed when a past pic from a year or two pops up in your memories.)
As I sat chatting to my friend about some of the crazy challenges that 2020 has brought, something popped into my heart. Sometimes, we are so up close to the battles that we are facing, that we don't always see the tiny little changes or the growth that is also taking place. Just like me and my granadilla creeper ... each day that plant has been growing at quite a significant rate of growth, but because its presence was so familiar to me I wasn't really noticing the unfolding change. This made me think about the small victories that we sometimes overlook in the thick of our battles. Even in the thick of it, there are "little wins" along the way to encourage us. They are little "glimmers of hope" to give us courage to keep trusting. God is faithful like that, lest we become too overwhelmed.
"We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial, God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."
1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Passion Translation).
My encouragement to you today is simply to keep your eyes open for those little wins along your way and when you spot them, give yourself permission to stop and celebrate that win! May the Lord give you fresh eyes to see your wins along the way today.
Blessings and love,
🌿
Janine
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