KEEP YOUR COOL!

Sensible people control their temper;

They earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

Proverbs 19:11

Do you like plants? Do you like to study all of the different characteristics of plants and what it takes to get each one to thrive?

I often say that I have a “black thumb” instead of a green one but I do find some plants interesting. Like the poinsettia plant. Several years ago I experimented with bringing some poinsettia plants through from one Christmas to the next. My husband and I researched the necessary steps and set up a greenhouse of sorts in our basement. It took a lot of work but we were able to have beautiful poinsettias to enjoy and to give away at Christmas.



Then one year we took on the task of raising Easter Lilies for the church. We learned that the bulbs had to be pre chilled before planting them and that we had to plant them straight out of the refrigerator – before they lost their cool!!

Can you relate to those bulbs? Do you ever lose your cool? How do you think we could apply this knowledge about plants to our own lives, so that we can avoid losing our cool? What would this look like for us?

Flower bulbs need cool temperatures to bloom and thrive. In the same way we need the right spiritual conditions to bloom and thrive. Spending time in the presence of Jesus has the same positive effect as placing bulbs in a refrigerator – Jesus’ presence helps us so that we can bloom and express ourselves in God-honoring ways. And…the fact that pre-chilled bulbs must be planted immediately should remind us that in times of stress, we need to immediately plant ourselves in the presence of Jesus and in God’s Word – before we lose our cool!

Heavenly Father, help us always to be planted firmly in Your Word; and in stressful times, help us to always remember to plant ourselves in the presence of Jesus, the Christ. May we always remember this and – Never Lose Our Cool! Amen.

                                                                          Pastor Ruth