This is my Tulip Garden

It's hard to believe that the above picture is the same tulip garden that only 3 1/2 weeks ago looked like this:

Tulips only bloom for about 2 1/2 weeks each year. Most of the time they cannot even be seen because they live as a bulb that lives underground with no outward sign that they even exist.  The first photo is the stage in the tulip plant's life where the green leaves, which are not very pretty, are feeding and replenishing the most important part of the plant, the bulb which cannot even be seen. If I would cut the green leaves off now, the tulips would not bloom next year. The bulb would not have enough stored energy to produce the magnificent colorful blooms. The green leaves are taking the energy from the sun and converting that energy into food and energy for the plant.  In about another three weeks even the green leaves will be gone and there will be no sign that a tulip garden even existed here.

Maybe you haven't blossomed yet. Maybe your life has been in the not so pretty green leaf stage. Maybe you are in the beneath the ground bulb stage, waiting for the warmth of the sun to bring forth your time to bloom. Unlike tulips, you and I were created in God's own image. We can make choices that will either help or hinder our potential to bloom.

To bloom in the way God wants you to bloom you must also feed your inner bulb, your Spirit. That food is God's word found in the bible. You also need to be in good soil, which means being in relationships with God's people. You also will need warmth and rain to bring forth your blooms. That would be love and the Holy Spirit.

Tulips cannot transplant themselves into a better environment. Tulips cannot choose to give themselves fertilizer and water. You on the other hand have the ability to make those changes in your life.

It's a choice to read the bible. To pray. To get involved with a church family. To attend worship and to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

God want's you to bloom! It's up to you.

Prayers Needed

Colin Rives, grandson of Judy and Bill Baubensteck. Colin is 13 years old and has osteosarcoma and is in treatment.

Jack Butler, Jack is home and is done with treatments. He will be recovering for the next 4 to 6 weeks at home.

Alexis Tharp, Alexis is recovering from a broken wrist and is an unemployed single parent of Audrey  her 4 year old.

Stan Rutkowski, Stan is a double amputee and lives alone in pontoon beach. He is fighting a compression wound which prevents him from sitting except for very short periods.

See you Sunday!  Happy mother's day! Love pastor kent