As I got up to pray this morning I didn’t hardly know what to pray but asked God to show me what I needed to do. After I finished praying I went outside to water my plants. I had done a lot of gardening in the past couple of months. A couple of months ago while pruning one of my geraniums, I accidently pulled a part of it out by the roots. Well, I got it in my head to plant that uprooted part in another area of my yard. I had been watering that and my other flowers every day for extra watering because I live in a very hot climate and the drip system is not enough for new plants. Well naturally that plant went into shock, lost of lot of its leaves, its stems looked brown and I was wondering if it had any life in it at all. In fact last weekend, I was having company and almost decided to pull it up and replace it with a new fresh plant because it ruined the appearance of my yard.

As I was saying, when I went out to water, crying and praying while I’m doing this, I noticed a very tiny new bud on that plant. I thought to myself, wow, I guess it still is alive. It still looks ugly because there is only one little bud on it. Well God began to speak to me how this applied to my life.

This plant (spouse) doesn’t look very good right now. In fact, people that look on may say, you need to get rid of that plant for there is no hope. Why don’t you just replace it with a new plant and start over! Furthermore what will people think when they come to your home and see that ailing plant. But I have continued to water that seemingly dead plant for the last couple of months. There was no bud there yesterday. I would know because I water it everyday. But now, suddenly when it appeared to be completely dead on the outside, I didn’t know what was happening inside for new life was getting ready to come out.

I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 43:18-19, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

I live in Southern California were it is very dry all summer and the hills become very brown during the summer. But when winter comes and we have a little rain, all of a sudden you will look out and it will be green. You never saw it turn green but it just appears. The Lord says, “Now it shall spring forth”. It was seemingly dead and brown and then one day you look out there and is green. You didn’t see any signs of it turning green. It just happened.

I just began to cry thinking of God’s love for encouraging me this morning and reminding me that things may appear dead but “suddenly” at the appointed time, He will cause new life to spring forth. Then I thought, “what would happen if I gave up watering that plant? “What would happen if I gave up standing for my marriage? I felt the Lord speak very clearly to me to continue watering whether I see any results, whether it seems like my efforts are in vain, whether anyone else thinks you are crazy. Water, water with prayer and fasting, water with praise and thanksgiving, water with obedience to His word, water in faith.