God's love sprinkles our hearts like a soft gentle rain
"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble."
- Proverbs 28:14 (NIV)
Spring is here, bringing with it the many blessings of the new season. The extended hours of daylight resurrect outdoor activities, such as baseball, gardening and bike rides. The bright sunshine, radiating warmth and energy, brings the beauty of bright-colored tulips and brilliant yellow daffodils to life.
Each year, I wait with anticipation to spot flowers sprouting through the ground. It amazes me how they manage to come through the hardened soil that covers them. I guess that's why they need the warm spring rain to soften the soil, so they can push their way to sunlight.
It reminds me of the soil of our hearts. Sometimes, things occur in life that cause the soil of our hearts to harden. Once the hardness sets in, it's more difficult for any good to bloom forth from our lives - there is no beauty to behold. Where there were once words of love, words of bitterness and resentment spew from our mouths, causing hurt and pain to all in our path. Walls of hardness come between us and others, troubling our relationships.
What causes a heart to become so hardened?
Sometimes the disappointments of life become too much to bear, and anger sets in. We either never learn to accept the blows or never learn to cope appropriately to overcome them. Sometimes, the daily struggles of life wear us down, and we start to retaliate with bitterness, thinking this is the way to survive.
The fact is, life isn't always a bed of roses, but dealing with it by using bitterness and resentment causes many opportunities to go unnoticed, and increases our hurt and pain.
When we allow God in our hearts amid the pain, and cooperate with him, he can mold and shape our lives into something better than we ever imagined. Many people have taken their bitter circumstances and found something constructive to do so they could turn the situation for good.
With the help of God, when we set our mind to overcome bitterness, and add a little gratitude, our outlook on life starts to change. Over time, God's love sprinkles our hearts like a soft gentle rain - like the springtime soil, our hearts can soften so something beautiful can grow in our lives.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. Annettee is available to speak to your church group, business or be your personal life coach. You can contact her at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413. Visit www.annetteebudzban.com.