Yes, all my plants are dead. But it's for the children! How to turn your weaknesses into life lessons they won't forget.

I have always been a firm believer that my mess is my message. I have an uncanny ability to greatly threaten the life of any potted plant under my jurisdiction. You know those plants that are supposed to be drought resistant, hardy, able to survive all the elements, impossible to kill? Yeah, well under my care even they have to fight for survival! But even that can be used for good. :-) 

Both my children (each at the age of 3) have a memory of being by my side learning to prune plants, picking off the dead stuff. As we did so I took the opportunity to explain to them how God prunes us because He loves us. It's a long, difficult, sometimes painful process, but God pulls out the bad stuff in our lives so that we can grow more good stuff. It's an incredible object lesson that, were my plants not dried up, scraggly and fighting for their lives, my children would have never had the opportunity to participate in. :-)

Do you have messes in your life that you should just fess up to and allow God to use for His good? Don’t be ashamed of your struggles, your weaknesses. Instead, examine them, and see how you can use them as life lessons for your kiddos. Don't be afraid (or too proud) to bring your children alongside you, and let them help you clean up your messes. In doing so, you can take the opportunity to point them to the perfect, loving Father who continually prunes us and makes us bloom.

As you may have heard … the Light shines better through cracked pots!

"I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]." John 15:1-2 (AMP)

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