GROW AND SHARE
Welcome to Day 17 of #write31days. Grow is the Five Minute Friday Free Writes word prompt. What a perfect word to write about for today! I love to grow and share some of my own food. I hope to do more in our little garden.
This past Saturday we went to the Homesteaders of America Conference in Warrenton, Virginia.
ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS CAN GROW
One of the speakers was Esther Emery, who happens to be a friend of ours. It was exciting, as my daughter, Jamie, came with us and met Esther in person for the first time. We both got to know Esther through online groups. So there was no awkwardness at all in the real life meeting. She and Jamie were like long lost sisters finally reuniting.
Online friendships can grow whether or not you ever meet face to face.
Yesterday I was chatting online with my friend, Peggi, and she asked me what was my takeaway from the conference. As I thought about it I remembered something Esther said that really stuck. She said that we should remember our true things.”
REMEMBER YOUR TRUE THINGS
With all that’s going on in the world – fear, uncertainty, trouble, sickness, etc. – it helps to remember the things you know are true.
The sky, the trees, the ground, my family, my relationship to God – all those are real.
The sun always rises and sets. The moon and stars are out every night. Hardwood trees lose their leaves in fall, but new growth comes in spring.
As Peggi and I continued chatting I told her I needed to write my blog post. Earlier in the day I had prayed about it, but wasn’t coming up with anything.
So I spent some outdoor time alone in the fresh air.
While I was outside, I decided to clear out some of the garden. To my surprise there were quite a few bell peppers and some green tomatoes. The garden was so overgrown I didn’t even know they were there.
Underneath the weeds
Hidden fruit is growing strong
Waiting to be found
When I mentioned that to Peggi, she said, “Wow! That sounds like a great topic right there! ‘So overgrown that I couldn’t see them’…yes! Could make a good sermon, even, I am thinking!”
Then she said, “God is good! Your garden…a TRUE thing.”
That’s when I looked up the word for today and told her that it was grow. So I said to her I think I have my topic thanks to you and God.
Then she said, “Ha! I’m NOT surprised! This is so like our Father God!”
HIDDEN FRUIT
Like my garden, our fruit can sometimes be hidden under the weeds. It’s there and growing but maybe fear holds us back. Or maybe we are afraid our fruit will be sour or moldy or damaged in some way. We might cover ourselves with all kinds of disguises so no one will see the real person inside.
But how much better to throw off the pretense, rest in the truth of God, and let our fruit grow!
Then, grow and share, encourage one another, and become your true self along the way.
Hidden deep inside
Spirit fruit is taking root
Preparing to bloom
Let’s throw off the masks
Get rid of all disguises
And let our lights shine
To find other posts in this series click HERE.
I’m linking up with: #TrekkingThru, #TeaAndWord
Oh, How I love the way the Holy Spirit speaks through you, Gayl! Thank you, my beautiful Sister in Christ! XO
Thank you, Peggi! And thanks so much for all your input. It’s great to bounce ideas off of you. I’m so glad God brought us together! May He be glorified! Much love and many blessings to you, dear sister! xo
The Holy Spirit sure knows how to show up when we need to write.
Boy, does He, Tara! Thanks so much for visiting. You are such a faithful encourager!
Many blessings to you! Love and hugs ! xo
I am so blessed by my online friendships! Thank you for sharing your heart and beautiful pictures!
Me, too, Jolene! Online friendships have been such an encouragement to me. I’ve been blessed to meet some of them in person, and that is a blessing. So glad you stopped by today. Thank you for your encouraging words!
Blessings to you!
Dear Gayl,
Oh, yes, I am so thankful for these online friendships also! That conference sounds like it was so much fun. And what a surprise to come home to hidden fruit waiting in your own homestead! I love it when God supplies the object lesson for us. Oh, may I let Him bring up the fruits that HE sees inside! Blessings, Love and Hugs! xoxo
Dear Bettie,
I don’t know what I would do without my online friendships The conference was pretty good and we learned some things. And I was very surprised to find all those peppers, because earlier it didn’t look like there were going to be any.
And I also love it when God gives the perfect object lesson and uses friends to help us see it. May we all trust Him to bring up those hidden fruits.
Blessings, love and hugs to you, too! xoxo
Gayl, it sounds like you had a fruit-full time in every way, feeding heart and soul and then sharing your inspired thoughts with us! Isn’t it great when God shows up to fill our emptiness? I’m seeing and experiencing that each day while participating in the #write31days series. I love that you and Jamie got to meet up with Esther and offer her encouragement and support with her talk. What a great time you must have had, albeit an exhausting one! My online friendships are so precious and often a lifeline for me. I treasure “knowing” you in this way, dear sister/poet/writer/friend! Love and hugs! xoxo
Yes, Joy! It was very “fruit-full” in so many ways. Yes, I love when God fills our emptiness and gives us words do say when we can’t seem to find them. Oh, it was great to be able to spend so much time with Esther. And her talk was really good.
I agree about the online friendships. Your friendship is a treasure to me, and I hope somehow there will be a way some day to meet in person. Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear sister and beautiful friend! xoxo
Hi, Gayl! Visiting from the FMF Facebook page.
“Remember true things.” I am going to write that down and put it somewhere I can see it. I am naturally a pessimist and often have a negative, even bleak, outlook on life. But a lot of what I think about isn’t even true! Thank you for these three words. I have a feeling that they will help to shift my perspective.
Hi Marie! Nice to have you visit! Yes, I thought that was very profound yet simple. Just three words – “Remember true things.” I think they will be very helpful in shifting perspectives. It always helps to remember what is always true.
Blessings to you!
Gayl, your words are right up my alley and ones I have to live by or I am super prone to getting off track. It reminds me of next week’s post for TeaAndWord. Thank you for sharing this, friend. And I love your photos!
So glad you stopped by, Meg! I’m glad you found encouragement here. Thank you for your comments! Blessings to you! xo