Dead Grass or Green Grass

Faith and I had an interesting conversation the other day on the way home from school.  A neighbor of ours has goats and just got a few new ones.  One of the goats must be Houdini as he is almost always outside of the fence.  She asked why he always wants to be out.  I explained to her that he probably thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  She said he was right because there isn’t even much grace inside the fence anymore. 

In this case yes, the grass was greener on the other side, but sometimes the grass on the other side of the fence is not greener.  As humans we often look to the other side of the fence wanting the better thing that seems to be waiting on the other side, but sometimes we find out that things really aren’t better.

As many of you know, we have just put new flooring in our house.   This has been a dream of mine almost the whole time we owned the house and after all that hard work it does look great and has cut down on the amount of Puffs used in the house.  While there is a lot of green grass on this side of the fence, it is not all green.  There are things that could have made it better.  Our son Heath will tell you that it took away a lot of family time that he really missed.  Mike and I could tell you that our knees got a little older through this adventure.  And I find sometimes I am frustrated there is no carpet to rub all that dust off my feet on, and that I need to buy some rugs and slippers. 

This world that we live in is no longer perfect because of our sin, and we are rarely satisfied.  Sometimes the grass may be greener on the other side, but it will come with other challenges.  What I ended up telling Faith the other day about the goats is that while life is not perfect, with God we can endure the hard times knowing that His ultimate plan is good!

He knew that there would be divorce, loss of loved ones, loss of home and jobs.  He knew there would be bullies, learning disabilities and physical ailments.  He knew life would be hard AND He has a plan that helps us to endure.  First of all, He assures us in scripture that He will not leave us so we should not fear what is happening or what is yet to come. 

Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with MY Righteous right hand.”  Wow!  I am a master worrier, but when I read this I can’t help but find peace!  He has got it…whatever it is that is worrying us, whatever it is we are going through.  He is handling it and it is good!

Second of all, we just celebrated Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  If we truly can grasp what that means, we can look past all of life here on earth and realize that our final home with Him in heaven is the prize.  This life seems long sometimes, but it is only temporary.  Our eternal life in heaven is a gift from God through Christ Jesus our Savior, is a place of peace and beauty beyond what we can ever imagine.  That is what we have to look forward to. 

So, as life sometimes gives you dead grass on the other side of the fence, look far beyond just the other side and know that there is peace to come.

Praying your love for the Lord and peace in his blessings will fill your hearts and minds through the green grasses and dead ones! 

Deaconess Jessica