Living Like a Hollyhock

Thanks, everyone, for your encouraging comments on yesterday's post, and thank you for your prayers. My mom was feeling a little better today, and I (Amy) am so thankful! My grandparents are here for the weekend to help us make venison sausage, so it's great that my mom can get in on the fun! My day today was much less stressful, and I even remembered to go to school ;-). Oh, and we got an email from Julie saying that the team landed safely in Poland. Praise God!

I promised you all a picture this time, but I'm guessing that you weren't expecting this one:

To be honest, I wasn't really planning to post this picture, either. But as I looked at it, I realized that it fits in perfectly with the topic on my mind tonight. On Wednesday night, a speaker at our youth group gave a great message on living out our faith. Since then, I've been pondering the question, "Does my daily life reflect that Jesus is my Lord?"

You see, I think that living as a Christian in today's society is like living as the hollyhock that grew in our garden this summer. Early on in the summer, that hollyhock grew several inches before it began to bend and sway under its own weight. We tied it to a wooden stake to straighten it out, and in no time at all, it was growing like a weed! In a bed full of tiny, withered plants, the hollyhock seemed to grow an inch every day until it stood over three feet tall. It never bent under pressure from the pounding rains. And when it blossomed, it held dozens of beautiful soft pink flowers that brightened our days and made for beautiful bouquets.

Yes, living for Christ is a lot like that. Once we realize that we cannot support the weight of our own sins, we must accept the redemption and correction for which Christ paid on His own wooden stake. Then we must strive to grow in our relationships with God, and in our ministry to others, every single day. In a world full of people with withered hearts and souls, we as Christians must stand tall, holding out the hope of the Gospel. And when struggles come, we must put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and continue to worship Him, not bending to the pressures of this world. When we do these things, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) will begin to blossom in our lives and bring joy to those around us. And friends, it will be beautiful!

So, am I living like a hollyhock? Yes and no. Since I began to fully surrender my heart to Christ four years ago, the Lord has graciously redeemed many aspects of my life, and has taught me more about serving Him than ever before. Yet I know that there are still things He and I need to work on in my heart. Two things that come to mind at this moment are conquering worries in my life and being an energy giver (as opposed to an energy taker) within my family. Praise the Lord that He is more than able to teach me these things and many more as I strive to submit to His will!

Now I'll ask you the same question and encourage you to bring it before the Lord this weekend. My friends, are you living like hollyhocks?