Day 17 Words of Wisdom

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

And one for the gardener (or just about anybody who needs encouraging):

If there are no roses in your life to smell along the way then stop and admire the thistles every so often.

We all would like our life to be nothing but a journey through a beautiful garden of scented roses (I prefer red, peach, and sterling roses in case you're interested) but life rarely turns out that way. For that matter, gardens rarely turn out that way either! Life - and gardens - grow their share of weeds.

It's funny how sometimes it is hard to tell a flower from a weed. When they're young and tender they look an awful lot alike. And if left to themselves some of the weeds will even show off a pretty flower or two. 

Even greenhouses have problems classifying the two.  This past spring I stopped at a local gardening retailer to buy a flower that I'd seen around mailboxes and in rock gardens. The proprieter wasn't sure what it was that I wanted until I saw one in his perennial area.  When I pointed to it the gardener immediately went and jerked it out of the planter! He said that it was a weed and that the other plant in the bucket was the one he was selling. I was surprised! It was the uprooted flower that I had stopped to buy! He said that he'd sold that flower in the past but that it had proven to be invasive. It's presence in the bucket with the other plant was proof of it.

So if your life's garden has very few roses in it try to find a couple of thistles or other weeds. They might not be as admired as roses but they have their moments of beauty and usefulness. Just watch the golden finches feed off of the thistles!

I Thessalonians 5:18 says "In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Your life may not be a bed of roses but you should thank the Lord if you're growing a healthy crop of weeds, too.  It's all in who is doing the classifying.