Resilience

I have a beautiful lavender plant in my garden, I call her Lavey, my tsonga tendencies to shorten every name. If I were to give her a second name, it would be Resilience, and yes it's another tsonga tendency, rolling my eyes. I learned a valuable lesson from growing this beautiful plant. I learned that no matter what curve balls life throws at you, keep bouncing back. I found this hilarious comic about gardeners, the conversation goes something like this: 

Gardeners leader: who are we?  

Gardeners: gardeners!  

Gardeners leader: what do we want?  

Gardeners: all the plants!  

Gardeners leader: where are we going to plant them? 

Gardeners: we don't know! 

My beautiful purple flower-producing Lavey was a victim of the above. Each time I got a new plant she was moved. I moved her from the front yard to the backyard garden.Then to the front again, only to be finally moved outside the yard in the lawn. Each time I moved her, the first two weeks she will look like she is dying. But she is a firm believer of a Sepedi saying that says "go boela morago ase go tshaba, ke go tsea matla. It means to wait or to rest, is not to give up, but to a draw strength. I will keep watering and fertilizing her, and before you know it she is back, stronger than before.

Lavey my calming and amazing aroma producing plant has been through the most. But she is also the most flourishing with very little maintenance. All the characters in the Bible had their fair share of challenges. Joseph had the jealous brothers, the pit, and Potiphar's wife to deal with. Abraham had to leave his country, his people, and his father's household, and he did not have an heir to all his promises from God. With Jesus, it was the cross, Moses it was the Red Sea, but the Lord says: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV.  

We would not need such encouragement if God did not know you will have things that will make you afraid or terrified. But the key is to trust in the Lord and his promises, and keep moving. Sometimes hibernate or rest in prayer and wait on the Lord. Like Lavey will take a week or two recovering, waiting for me to water and nature her, wait on the Lord, as the scripture says: Those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 NKJV.  

I think the above scripture just explained resilience in the best possible way. If we were in church I would say look at your neighbor and say: wait on the Lord! renew your strength and bounce back! don't give up! The current sit back does not have to be the end, let it be a lesson, a character muscle builder, or whatever, just not defeat. Let's learn from Lavey and always bounce back from all the curveballs life throws at us. I think this is what God had in mind when he wrote Romans 8 verse 37 " we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us"