I love it when nature reflects godly truths.  We see a ton of that if we look carefully.  Tree root systems getting stronger because of fierce winds.  Forests and grasslands coming back stronger after fire. Butterflies able to fly because of the struggle of getting out of their cocoons.  Just to name a few.

As I was mowing my lawn recently, I saw another clear biblical principal as I walked around in circles.  (Actually, not that unusual for me even without mowing…)

This phenomenon causes me to debate every week or so whether it’s time to get the mower out or not.  Is the grass really long enough to warrant another cutting?

The reason that it’s not an obvious “yes” or “no” is because the grass doesn’t grow consistently in all areas.  Now, to be fair, there is some variation due to the natural fertilization process compliments of my canine children.  But setting that aside.

This is not a “wow” moment, nor is it any revelation that all of you aren’t already familiar with.  Here’s my big statement:

My grass is lush in the areas where it gets decent shade.  In the full sun portions of the yard, it borders on drying up.

Lawn Care 101

The biblical/life principle here is that a life which is nothing but sunshine (which doesn’t sound half bad), will almost always result in stunted growth and even seasons of spiritual drought.  The times in our lives when the sun does not shine down on us, when we feel like we are in a never-ending season of shade, when trials and challenges seem far too abundant – those are the times when we can experience incredible growth and, yes, even a lush season in our lives.

To take this analogy one step further, when possible, we want a decent mixture of both sun and shade for ideal growth.  I think it’s one of the reasons the Bible talks often about both sunshine and rain.

So for us humans, while we love the sunshine seasons of our lives, and often begrudgingly accept the harder, rainy seasons, both are also ideal for us.

God absolutely wants to bless his children and, despite any heartache in our lives, I believe we can all point to blessings that we know are from his hand. Enjoy them, savor them, thank God for them, but know they aren’t a “forever” season.

When our rainy or stormy or even catastrophic seasons hit us, may we be reminded that God’s ultimate desire for you and me is to develop the lushness of character represented by our photo this week.

And one more nature lesson I’ve learned is this.  Eventually THIS rainy season ends, and the sun comes out again.  God knows how long we must stay in the storm, and when we desperately need a glimpse of his sunshine.

May our lives more and more reflect the lush growth of what God ordains for our seasons.

And after you have suffered a little while,

the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:10