The Rose and The Zucchini

 Yesterday I got home from work and saw a beautiful bud on the rose bush by my door. I took tyme to stop and smell the rose and to take its picture. I oooed and ahhhed and praised God for His beautiful creation and then went on about my evening.

 I got home from work today and saw the same rose bud I saw yesterday, only today it was no longer a bud, but an opened up, young rose. I stopped, smelled, pictured, oooed and ahhhed again, all the while thinking, “wow, what a difference a day makes”!

I went inside and got busy preparing dinner, making yet another zucchini dish from the blessing and bounty of my garden. As I chopped the rather large zucchini, I remembered how small it was the day before. In fact, when I picked it, I had a hard tyme convincing myself it was actually the same zucchini as the day before, but it was in the same spot, attached to the same vine, so it had to be the same zucchini. I chopped along thinking, “wow, what a difference a day makes”!

Then it dawned on me that we are all like roses and zucchini because each of our days makes a difference. It might not often seem like it, but each day has us aging and growing. Sure, we might not see as much difference in one day as the rose and the zucchini, but each day does make a difference in our lives. The thing of it is, it’s up to us to decide if the day will make a good difference or a bad difference.

Did we pray for someone today? Did we hold a door for someone or say a kind word to someone? Did we make someone smile or laugh or feel good about themselves? Did we cook dinner for someone or serve at a food pantry? Did we make a donation to a worthy cause or show up to lend a helping hand to someone in need?

Or, did we spend the day wishing for things we can’t have? Did we think negative thoughts and bring others down? Did we put others down by offering harsh criticism and unkind words? Did we lie or cheat someone?

Good or bad, each one of those things on its own makes a difference in each day and therefore each day makes a difference. And, as the days add up, so do the differences. They become noticeable in either a good or bad way.

So, if we’re feeling like a day didn’t matter or if we’re wondering what the point is, let’s remember the Rose and the Zucchini. Let’s remember that a lot can open up, change and grow in a single day. Let’s remember that we have a lot of say in the difference our day makes.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”

“What a difference a day makes!”

Say What We Mean and Mean What We Say

Silly question, but do you know that words have meanings? I sometymes wonder if a lot of people forget that little fact. The older I get, the more I realize that many people use words where they don't belong, mainly off-color or foul language that really does not convey the true essence of what they are trying to say. I have always thought that if I cannot find a word that expresses my intended meaning, then I shouldn't be talking. Perhaps it is because of my black and white brain and my inability to understand "gray area" very well at all. If you say cow, I picture a cow. If you say "sea cow", I picture a sea and a cow...it takes my brain some processing to realize you are referring to a manatee. Now granted, my brain and I have been together for quite a while now, so many of the processes happen quickly and I can keep up, but sometymes that is not the case. Sometymes my brain gets hung up on words, because they don't mean what people are trying to say.

To quote one of my favorite movies...

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".

One of the greatest examples of this is when people say something is as ________ as hell.

Insert your word of choice. I've heard "cool as hell", "strange as hell", "hot as hell", "hectic as hell", "empty as hell" ... I've even heard someone say, "righteous as hell". Mentally, I'm still shaking my head over that one.

It's concerning to me that people make such comparisons, not only because they are so far from true, but because it actually takes away from the scary, horrible, terrible, hopeless place that hell actually is. Hell is a real place and anyone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Savior is going there...forever. Seriously...ETERNAL DEATH.

Hell is not cool (figuratively or literally). The strangest thing you could possibly imagine can not come close to describing how strange hell is. Nothing you have seen or felt or can imagine is as hot (figuratively or literally) as hell is. No scene you've ever encountered or imagined can compare to the chaos that is hell. Sadly, many have died not knowing Christ, so hell is certainly not empty. As for Righteous, well, I think you can see that particular statement proves my point. WORDS HAVE MEANING!

Yes, words have meaning and we need to use them correctly so as to reach those that need to hear what we have to say. If we want to say something is cool as in neat, then we need to compare it to something that is actually cool/neat instead of letting our words desensitize reality.

Now, I admit that the English language can make things interesting what with its "their, there, they're" and other such homonyms. I also admit that I can appreciate a good play on words and I applaud clever humor. Still we need to remember that words not only have meaning, they have lasting meaning as well.

In Matthew 5:37, Jesus tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. He is referring to taking or rather not taking oaths, but He is also telling us to let our words be true. Jesus often spoke in parables because they were easy to understand and helped people understand Him, which was the purpose of His ministry and should be the purpose of ours.

The truth is, we are not perfect like Jesus. People will misunderstand us and they will take offense to our words at tymes, even if our intentions are the purest of pure. We need to guard our tongues (Proverbs 21:23) and remember to use our words wisely. We need to say what we mean and mean what we say!