"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23
When I was a kid, my mom showed me that if you put Queen Anne's lace in colored water, the flowers would draw the water up the stems and eventually the flower itself would turn the color of the water. I was out for a walk on Labor Day, and when I saw some Queen Anne's lace in an empty lot, I picked some to try the experiment again.
As I saw the blue flower on the countertop last week, it made me think about how what I saturate my mind with determines my attitude - and ultimately my actions. People in pain are especially sensitive to their environment, what they see and hear and think about. We are like the flowers whose stems are cut off fresh at an angle, thirsty and drinking up the life-giving water we need so badly. If we drink from a dirty pond, filling our hearts with ugly thoughts, distressing "entertainment," or unhealthy relationships, we will wither. But if we soak up God's word in the Bible and his presence in regular prayer, we are promised to bear fruit that will last, and we will also be gradually transformed in the process to become flush with the hue of our Savior.
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
John 15:4
