Spiritual Multiplication

It is a joy to raise the blinds in the morning and peek out of the window, to see beautiful birds enjoying a black oil sunflower seed breakfast on one of our bird feeders. It is a wonderfully peaceful past time to watch the bird traffic in the yard. The bird activity is a direct result of us trying to be diligent to keep the feeders filled for our feathered friends.

The hindrance to having full bird feeders, is due to the exploding population of fox squirrels residing in our oak trees. These antagonists also love dining on sunflower seeds and through their concerted efforts, can empty a feeder in an afternoon.

Squirrels will also heist the seeds and hide them or bury them in various locations throughout the yard. Thankfully, the squirrels are forgetful and fortunately for us, some of those hidden seeds become sources of great surprise and truly delight us.

If the soil the seed is buried in for the squirrel’s epicurean delight at a later date, is rich and fertile, we may be blessed with a beautiful sunflower that sprouts and blooms in Spring.

It is impossible to look at this beautiful flower without recalling Matthew 13:23, where the Lord Jesus says, “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

That one little sunflower seed, dropped into that fertile soil produces a lovely flower, filled with innumerable seeds, each of which is also filled with its own potential for beauty.

We, as God’s children, who have heard His truth, believed it and understood it, will in turn live a life that prayerfully, speaks to others of the the love and goodness of God. By His mercy and grace, we will see others come to trust Him because of our loving witness. Then, as with the sunflower, the multiplication begins.

May we tend to the garden soil of our lives and prepare it with the reading of His Word, with prayer and worship and fellowship and bear much fruit for the sake of the Kingdom.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

Nelda – copyrighted 2024

Glorious September

The splendor of September
Bathes the day in golden light,
Turns the deep green summer forest
Into a symphony of delight.

In shades of new wine,
Spun honey and Virginia apple red,
The leaves proclaim God’s glory
Unlike anything that can be said.

They fall from the heights of the grandest trees,
In a dance to be envied by man.
They twirl and sway to the forest floor,
And with pure grace and gentle ease, they land.

What a glorious tapestry on the floor ‘neath our feet,
Sweet colors of wonder so bright,
As they lay in the splendor of lovely September,
As they lay in the warm golden light.

Nelda Johnson
Copyright 2020

My Delight

If the governments of nations are not too great 
For Your mighty shoulders to bear,
Then I know full well 
That the cares of my soul,
With You, I can certainly share.

You lift the weight of all my cares and concerns,
As I purpose to cast them on You.
You grant me peace in their place
As I trust with my heart
In Your mercies each day,
That are new.

All praise to the King, who dances over me
And sings me songs
In the darkness of night.
All praise to His infinite glory and grace.
He is my hope, my sweet peace, my delight.

Nelda Johnson
Copyright 2020

When Life Hurts

You O Lord, give the grace to stand,
The heart to fight
And the will to win,

When the schemes of the evil one
And his well laid out plans,
Seek to conquer, destroy
And bring death to man.

Your grace is sufficient,
Your power supreme,
Your love all consuming
And so it would seem,

No matter the situation,
No matter the shame,
No matter the sorrow, 
No matter the pain,

Yours are able, through You,
Through Your power and might
To stand and to win and to trust, 
While You fight.

Nelda Johnson
Copyright 2020

Be Purged

Pain is a two-edged sword, 
My child,
It cuts, it wounds and we bleed.

We would like to escape
That cruel wound if we could
And seek shelter from that
Dark, painful deed.

But God, in His grace 
Uses pain as a tool,
To cleanse, to purge, purify.

He gives beauty for ashes
And joy in the place, 
Of the wound that could
Cause us to die.

For satan would seek
To target our pain
And poison our souls
Deep within.

He would render us useless
For all Kingdom good, 
Flood our hearts
With the darkness of sin.

So yield your pain, dear child,
To your God, to your King,
So that satan can gain 
No foothold.

Let God’s love flood your soul
For who wielded the sword
Who wounded,
Whose ways were so cold.

Be purged, purified,
Forgiving and kind.
Be tried, my child,
And come forth as gold.  

Nelda Johnson
Copyright 2020

This poem was written for one of my children, who was deeply hurt by another.  God is faithful.  My child is whole.