What blessings have been within your reach, sight, or breath but you’ve never noticed them because you are not situating yourself in a spot to see them? 

This is SUCH a good, soul searching question for us to ponder….

Confession—-I have been staying up WAY TOO LATE watching Hallmark or Netflix or Disney plus when I should be going to bed.  I want to wake up early to watch the sunrise, read, write, or call a kindred spirit who lives in another state & time zone.  These blessings have been waiting for me, but I’ve put something else foolish in front of them.  Consequently, I have missed out on hundreds of warm coffees with orange sherbet sunrises, blissful bible reading on my peaceful patio, and hearing God’s gentle whisper to me at the beginning of each morning.  WHY?  WHY? WHY? 

Old habits are hard to break.  They have strong muscle memory and can coerce you into doing things that you don’t even realize you are doing (like roboticly watching TV late at night).
It makes me think of this beautiful purple morning glory flower that persistently grows among the trees lining my patio gate.  The morning glory vines were pulled out years ago and replaced with tree shrubs that have grown to offer coverage & privacy.  However, the morning glory vine is still spotted in sections of the tree.  A wild purple flower will bloom randomly & its vines will twist and turn on the tree leaves making it difficult to pull out.  It’s a relentless thing of beauty. It’s strong and it grows where it wants–relying on muscle memory (do vines have muscles or memory??). 

It’s habitual.  I can draw bunches of symbolic lessons from these whimsical wildflowers.  But, for now I’m focusing on their ability to keep growing and keep doing the same thing.  The twisting pattern of perpetual  purple flowers.

So, what habits need to be uprooted in our lives so that new growth can occur? 

Let’s not be afraid to pluck those wildflowers out of the way, so that we can train our minds & souls to grow in new ways.  God wants to do a new thing in our lives and has good plans for us.

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”—-Isaiah 43:19

***As a side note, I actually LOVE wildflowers.  I am just using this as an illustration.  Please enjoy the wildflowers in your life as well, my friends.  Part of life is about learning which wildflowers are meant for you to enjoy and which ones need to be plucked from your path so you can journey forward.