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Heb 10:36 - You need to perservere, so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised

(1997) Have you ever spent a spring afternoon in the desert with God? On my way out of the Elena Gallagas wilderness area (Albuquerque, NM), I marveled at some lovely yellow wildflowers. How do they manage to bloom in such dry, barren soil? A sudden idea occurred to me. Why not treat these struggling wildflowers to the left-over water in my canteen? So on impulse I generously watered first one, and then another. I probably gave them more water than they normally received in an entire month! I felt good about what I had done until I heard . . .

You didn't ask Me if I wanted them watered.

"Huh ? . . . . . Did I do something wrong?"

Now you have encouraged their roots to turn up and become shallow. But the next time they need water, you won't be around. What will they do then?

I had a vision of these flowers wilting and dying in the summer heat because they lacked the deep roots needed to survive the drought. Meanwhile, other nearby wildflowers that I had not watered endured the drought. My misguided help had thwarted nature's wise plan for survival.

I need them to grow where they are planted. They need to be able to draw water on their own from deep down in the ground.

"I meant to help the wildflowers, but instead I actually hurt them. You've shown me that they will die when the summer drought comes because of my misplaced kindness. I'm sorry. But I can't retrieve the water from the ground once it's poured out . . . . What's this all about anyway? You're not just giving me a botany lesson. What is the real meaning of this?"

Think of your children!

When my children have trouble, my desire is always to help them. But sometimes the best (and hardest!) thing a parent can do is to step back and allow a child to struggle on their own - and perhaps even fail. It would be so much easier to step in and bail them out! But without struggling they will never grow strong.