Before we moved to our current house, I’d never seen poison ivy. I didn’t have the slightest clue what it looked like, and since I’m allergic to anything that might cause me to itch, I wanted to make certain I never got anywhere near it. Several years ago, Brad attempted to give me a lesson in spotting poison ivy. We rode around in the Gator and he pointed at various clumps of green stuff saying, “Is this poison ivy?” { left picture } And, I’d be all proud and say, “Yes, that’s poison ivy. Three leaves. Got it.” Except it wasn’t. It was just some other green, leafy vine thing that just also happened to have three-leaf groupings. { right picture }  Brad said pointy leaves are a clue it’s not the real thing; but I thought it would be so much easier if poison ivy was just orange.

Anyway, just like I struggle to recognize poison ivy, I fail to recognize things in my own life that are a lot like it. These things blend right in and look mostly innocent, but before I know it, they grow rapidly, wreak havoc, and overtake everything. Like selfishness. It’s that initial innocent “me” thought that takes root and grows rampant. Before I know it, it wraps around my head and heart and chokes out my joy and my love for others. It makes me sick, and worse yet, it’is contagious. { Just look at our world today. }

If you try and scratch a self-itch, you’ll find the same thing that happens with poison ivy happens with it. It spreads. You can’t scratch it even a little bit. There’s only one cure: Snatch that ugly vine right out and plant a seed of kindness for someone else in its place. Let God be the master gardener of your heart and watch His love grow there!

This Mother’s Day will be the fifth one I’ve had without my mom or my precious Granny. If I wallow in that thought for too long, I start itching. You know what I mean? But if I snatch that thought right out before it has a chance to take root, I realize that I was blessed for 43 years with both a mom and a grandmother, and for the last 26 years, I’ve been momma to the two best boys in the whole world. I not only have enough, I have more than enough!

So, I’m planting a seed of love and kindness for someone else. In honor of my mom, my Granny, and my boys, this Mother’s Day I’m making a donation to Logan’s Library, an organization that provides books for children while they are hospitalized. Logan’s Library was begun after our precious friends, Luke and Haley, lost their 16-month old baby boy just two days before Christmas last year. In the darkest and most difficult time of their lives, they’ve allowed God to be their master gardener, and they are watching His love grow through Logan’s Library. Want to plant a seed with me?

know Him & make Him known.

{ Get the rest of GloryStory here… }