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It’s been said that our job as people of love is to sow seeds of hope, faith, love, and peace all around us, and then trust God to make those plants grow. Whether it’s to strengthen our relationship with Him or to show Him to others, every effort we make gives God material to work with. We try to stay mindful of His powerful presence in us and in our world; we do our part and then trust Him to make growth happen.
Here are sayings I’ve collected over the years. Some are my own thoughts, some are others’ quotes. They’re all random thoughts on how we can work with God to foster this growth:
*“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
*‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ means you have to love yourself first. Accept yourself as a work in progress. Be good to yourself and take care of yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
*“The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” – John Milton
*Pray your prayers, don’t just say them.
*Stay in the moment with gratitude.
*Swallowing your pride sometimes means keeping nasty comments inside your mouth.
*Sometimes the best way to overcome difficulty with someone is to act kindly toward them. Look for something to compliment them on. Look harder. Go out of your way to be friendly to them, say something nice, do them a favor. Be the ‘good guy’ and they won’t have reason to treat you poorly. They still might treat you poorly, but at least it won’t be because you gave them reason to.
*Butterflies and springtime are God’s way of teaching us about heaven and life after death.
*“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” – Author unknown.
*Create happy memories today to remember tomorrow.
*Saying a prayer while waiting for the light to turn green takes your mind off the waiting.
*Just as a lake is filled with unseen living creatures, so are we filled with untapped potential. And just as a lake also contains hidden debris of fallen trees, dead fish, and trash, so do we have parts of us that aren’t life-giving and need to be cleared away.
*Prayer opens our heart and mind to the presence of God.
*Turn your back on the devil and turn your face to the Lord.
*Believe in yourself. God has given you a package of gifts, talents, and strengths. Look for these, and find ways to use them to shower love on your corner of the world.
May we sow the seeds wherever we are, however we can, and trust God to work with what we’ve given Him to make those seeds bloom and bring us and the world closer to Him.
“God causes the growth… we are God’s co-workers.” – 1 Corinthians 3:6,9
“Lord, use the seeds I plant.”
Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell Comments are always welcome!
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P.S.
Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.
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