Sweat tickled the small of my back as droplets rolled. The sultry heat of a late summer day in the South engulfed my frame. I pondered how could it be this hot, this early. The summer heat was intense. However, as I looked up and saw my surroundings, the beauty was even more intense than the heat. Myrtles in full bloom dotted the pathway.
Deep reds, pure white, and hot pinks are a few of my favorites. The blooms seemed to come alive before my very eyes. I watched as they danced in the once-in-a-while faint breeze. I saw her surrender her sweet fragile petals, as the wind tossed a few in the middle of my path.
I paused a little longer to examine her elegant dramatic blooms popping against the Carolina blue sky. With her graceful and feathering lay, she was a remarkable beauty.
As I lingered, I felt annoyed by burning sun's rays. However, did you know that Crape Myrtles thrive best in the heat of sun's rays? The hot summer days is when she is a flowering machine! She needs at least six hours daily of sunshine to display her best work.
My mind travels from the beauty of this plant to the beauty of a soul. Aren't you inspired by the soul that grows and blooms better when facing the heat of a trial or the hot endless engulfing circumstances of her day? I know I am! I want to be that kind of soul. I'm comforted to know from Scripture that, we too can bloom with beauty even in the heat of the day. We too can be a grand statement of God's handiwork. We must lean into Him when life is smothering with it's heat. When everything is hard, look to the rays of the SON of God.
I don't know what you are facing today. Maybe you feel the burning heat of the sultry day bearing on your soul. Sweet Sister, may I gently remind you, you can face and not begrudge the heat. You have power as you lean on the Holy Spirit's power and promises. Remember, if God has allowed the heat, He will work it together for our good. The trials and difficulty become a platform for growth. The hottest and seemingly unbearable moments will our chance to bloom into the beautiful show-stopper we were meant to be! Intriguing, right? I believe you and I are about to become even better. So, embrace the heat. Face the SON. And let's grow together.
Because she blooms better in hot weather.
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7
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