I heard one of the best quotes this weekend. The speaker said: “the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it is greenest where you fertilize it.” I am as guilty as the next person thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. I have wanted to move closer to my family for years now. I am sure there would be annoyances and heartache and issues that came up and we might regret the move, but to me, it always looked like a better situation. Now I have a great set of in-laws here in Illinois and I love them and they love us. We have a great time when we hang out with them and they aren’t overbearing. They help us when we need them and we help them when they need us. It is a win-win situation. But I was always looking at the other situation and dreaming. Now I am not going to totally take away that dream, as I would love to move closer to home with hills and scenery and my family close by and my old high school friends just a phone call away, but the reality is, it is not going to happen any time soon.
I have been watching some of my friends in situations that have been deteriorating them. A few of my friends (I wish I could say it was just one) longed to have freedom to do whatever she pleased, but was in a marriage. Sabotaging that relationship, she gave up things that she is now regretting. She ended up sad, trying to make the best of the situation and trying to put a positive spin on things. Another friend was single and wanted so badly to be in a relationship that she compromised everything to be in one. She knew that she didn’t feel 100% for this guy, but she said it was either be in a relationship (with no commitment), or be alone. She was emotionally abused and when he ended up breaking up with her, her life was shattered.
The man that gave me this quote is from the “hearts at home” ministry from Springfield, Illinois. Definitely worth the google search. I got to thinking about it after he said it, since I live in the country and we used to have cows, sometimes the best fertilizer is poo. Yep, I went there. It seems like I blog a lot about poo. When the cows would poop, the grass under it would grow stronger and greener and thicker once it made it through the cow patty. So even though we are in our current situation, and it might seem like there is a lot of poo around us, just remember, you are fertilizing great green grass underneath that!
Hosea 2:7 “She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.”
This is about Israel being restored. The grass seemed greener to look to other gods, to turn away from the true God, to turn to the world and do what they said is best. But Israel couldn’t find happiness. So she turned back to God. Fortunately for us, when we finally decide to come back to God, he is standing there. Waiting for us.
Think about the prodigal son: Luke 15:11-32. He was so excited to get out on his own. Everyone else is having a blast and having fun and spending money, but I have to sit here and work. But when everything was gone, he turned back and his father was standing there looking for him, running to him, so glad to see his son return home. Think of the pain that his father went through, think of the agony that he worried about his son. The son learned a hard lesson that we can all avoid. We don’t have to go chasing other things when the best thing that we have is right in front of us the whole time.
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