Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one
can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
My columbine cross-pollinated.
When I first planted columbine in my flower garden, I started
with one or two plants. I had grown the old-fashioned ones for years, but when
I moved, I failed to take them with me. Eventually, I gathered starts of white
and purple from my siblings and added a pretty blue one. With their pops of
color and lacey leaves, they add bursts of joy to my plot. As the spring
flowers bloom, I'm reminded once again of God's handiwork.
Last year as I perused the early blossoms, I noticed a
change in one of the columbine plants. The white ones generally have a multi-petaled
bloom, while the purple and blue produce more of a bell shape with tiny curls
on the edges. When I focused the camera on one of the white blossoms, I noticed
it had a bell shape, too. The white had cross-pollinated with one of the other
plants and created a delicate white bell with curls.
I'm fascinated by the work of God in nature. Of course this
discovery got me thinking. When I as a human "cross-pollinate" with
the grace God offers, I become a different person. I'm no longer relying on myself.
Instead, I'm a child of God who relies on my heavenly Father, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit. Through Him my soul reaches a level of beauty I could not imagine
possible.
Just as the white columbine changed and blossomed, so did I when
I surrendered my life to Jesus. He has a good work for me to do and when I mesh
the abilities and desires God has given me with his grace and forgiveness, I'm a
new creation who by what I do, brings glory to my Father. I thank God for His
grace and mercy and for the chance to make a difference.
Praise God for Jesus and for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
