....drought

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

In our back yard, there is a spot where red and pink Pentas are planted. These flowers are hardy, and do well in our tropical heat.  They are colorful, and are butterfly attractors as well. Flash floods occasionally soak the Pentas. These plants are resilient, however, and after the soggy, drippy leaves dry out, the flowers bloom brilliantly.

More of a problem than too much water, is too little water. We might go for days, or weeks with no rain; sometimes with scorching sun beating down. They can look kind of pitiful, definitely dried up, with the flowers faded, or gone entirely. Yet these plants always bounce back.  A bit of rain, a little shade, and they are good to go again.

Some plants are created to withstand drought.  Are we?  

In the book Psalms, this very thing is addressed. The amplilfied version says it this way:  Blessed, happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly, following their advice, their plans and purposes, .. but his delight and desire are in the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God;  he habitually meditates, ponders and studies by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper and come to maturity. Ps 1:1-3

We may not be as naturally sturdy as Pentas.  Yet if we stay near the River of God, and are continually soaked and watered in His Word, we will not only be able to just make it through droughts, we will flourish in spite of them.

-sally i. kennedy