PRODUCING FRUIT
Today's reading: Song of Solomon 3-4

"You are like a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit, with the rarest of perfumes: nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, myrrh and aloes, perfume from every incense tree, and every other lovely spice." Song of Solomon 4:13-14 NLT

Thanks to the intimate words shared between Solomon and his bride, my heart has been lifted this morning. Encouraged. Spurred on. Delivered out of complacency. Reminded of His plan for me.

You see, I'd always thought of myself as producing 'garden variety' fruit for the Lord. The occasional potato of service. A tomato of supplication here and there. And zucchini-prolific intentions to live for Him each day. What I did, I thought was run of the mill in the Lord's eyes. I figured, and I love it when He chooses to open a window of enlightenment, that the fruit produced in my heart's garden was common, plain and down right run-of-the-mill.

But spices?

He notices when I dig deeper, work harder, pray more fervently and rise up with godliness--and thus produce amazing fruit only He and I can produce!

He takes into account each and every opportunity I am faced with to stand for Him. He knows the fruit, specialty fruit, produced when I do actually close my mouth to what I want to say allow him to speak through me--or my silence.

He catches a whiff of the exotic fragrances produced when I walk through my life in gratitude and thankfulness.

And I realize: potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini sustain, but spices? Spices add variety and intensity!

How exciting to know I'm so special to Him!