fresh flowers for Sept 21

Forces of Energy
copyright 2006, lani wiens
a fresh flowers original


We have just finished the harvest season out on my husband's family farm. It takes a massive amount of energy to clear the fields and ready them for next year's planting. The days are long, the nights are short. Tempers soar with heat and break-downs. Worry rises with every forbidding cloud formation. We are at the mercy of the weather and work feverishly to get the work done before the fall rains and frost hit. However, at the end of it all there are bins full of grain and pulse crops, piles of golden wheat and duram form small mountains on the yard. There is a glorious feeling that accompanies the final stalks going into the front end of a combine. So much energy, so much result. A harvest.

I am nursing an almost six month old baby. We just had a check-up yesterday and she is growing well. The nurse reminded me of how much energy this little one puts into growing and developing every moment of every day. As I was bemoaning my tired state to my husband today, he gently reminding me that I am sustaining the life of another human being directly from my energy stores. That takes a lot of work. So much energy, so much result. A healthy life.

Yesterday I witnessed an exchange between two women. One had been cut off in traffic and made it her business to let the guilty party know what she thought. Even though the woman had no idea she had committed such a heinous crime she apologized but the other 'wounded' party wouldn't let it go. She carried on, blocking traffic, oblivous to the fact that she was now in the wrong. Most likely she carried that incident into the rest of her day and let it overflow on everyone around her. So much enery, so little result.

Isn't it amazing how we can use energy in a positive or negative way? God has graciously given us breath and life and the hours in our day. I am convicted about how I spend my energy. Am I encouraging, life-giving and positive or am I belittling, draining and negative? What kind of bouquet do I present to the world around me?

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 1:12