On a gloomy day, I needed some sunshine, or at least something to make me pause and smile. Perusing through some favorite quotes, I happened upon this beauty:

“Take care of your garden, and keep out the weeds; fill it up with sunshine, kind words and kind deeds, ” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

This quote reminded me that it’s up to me, with the help from God, to keep my mind and my life in a blooming state.   No doubt, there will be days of weeds, so to speak. Not everyday will be a bed of roses; however, it’s how I view the day, that will determine the beauty of my garden.

The following are seeds of advice for my children ~ 

Follow the path that God has placed you on, and be grateful for every bit of it, the good and the bad. The good is the beauty in the garden of your life, and the bad is the weedy vine, tangled and dangerous part that needs your attention, in order to beautify that particular plot of your garden.

Weed and cultivate the part of your life that is troubling, so that you can work to change the weeds to beautiful flowers and foliage, making it a place that you would want to display to friends, family, and strangers… especially God, Himself.

If only you ask, He will provide you with the necessary tools to transform your garden, to the place of beauty that He knows it to be. He just needs your effort or wanting, in order to help you make this life your desired reality.

What tools would you ask Him to provide for your gardening excavation? The tools that I would start with would be: forgiveness, gratitude, clarity, persistence, endurance, humility, honor, God’s coat of armor, discernment, to know the positive growth vs. the dangerous and threatening weeds, patience, reflection, soul-repair, kindness, grace and mercy. I know this is quite a large list of tools; however, there is a need to be specific in one’s requests to God.

How would you add to this list?

Happy gardening ~