It’s not the flower that makes the gardenia so special; it’s the scent. It’s not something we can touch or see, but sense.
On the first day of my summer mission trip, we were told to keep an eye out for something at the house we were working at, that we could bring back to our host church and share with the rest of our mission team. It could be anything, but it was supposed to be something of significance to us that represented something special about our week.
I heard the teens talking about it all week. Some of them had no trouble finding an object and some of them struggled to the very last minute. After we all shared communion together, we all went up one-by-one and shared our objects and our stories and left them on the altar.
It was a very moving ceremony and there wasn’t a dry eye in the sanctuary. Some of the teens were very nervous, but it was amazing to see how they supported one another in love and friendship after only a week together.
There were shingles, nails and all types of items that though they seemed insignificant at first glance, the accompanying story that linked them with God made them extraordinary. Of course, God has the power to do that in all of our lives. We can give Him the tiniest, everyday, anything and He can make it magnificent. We just have to be willing to give it.
When it was my turn to share, I went empty-handed. I didn’t have a physical object. I had plenty to share. I saw God at every turn that week, but not necessarily in the physical.
I have shared on my blog before that I pray when I walk in my neighborhood and quite often, when I am really struggling with an issue, God sends a hawk across my path. It has happened way too often for me to discount. I mean, it will fly right in front of me.
I have always reasoned that if God can call every animal on the planet to get on a boat two-by-two, He can certainly send hawks across my path. If He can make a donkey talk, He can send me a hawk. It’s a spiritual connection I have with Him.
A large part of my work on the trip was working on the roof. Roofing isn’t really that hard, but it’s very hot and very tedious. The entire week that I was on the roof, a hawk cried out close by. I mentioned it to my daughter, several times. I would smile and look at her and ask, “Do you hear it?” She would smile and nod.
I never saw the hawk that week. I only heard it, but I knew God was close. I could feel Him.
The second thing I shared was that there was a huge gardenia bush next to the house, the largest I had ever seen. Every time I passed by it, I got a whiff of its sweet scent and I found myself thanking God for planting it there. I couldn’t see Him, but I could sense Him. That gardenia bush could have been anywhere, but it wasn’t. It was right beside the house.
The entire experience reminded me that God calls out to us in so many ways. We can see Him and feel Him in the world around us if we seek Him. We don’t have to be able to hold these encounters in our hands; we only have to hold them in our hearts.
Perhaps you needed a reminder today to seek Him.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂