Wil-TEA : a tuneful cuppa

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.(Isaiah 40:8, ESV)

Lately, for a variety of reasons, I have been very much aware of being in the withering, wil-TEA season of life. Scripture presents many rich "comparative" figures of speech to describe this season of brevity, especially when compared to eternity. 

• Swifter than a weaver's shuttle (Job 7:6) 
• Days on earth are like a shadow & wither away like grass. (1 Chronicles 29:13 and Psalm 102:11) 
• A vapor...for awhile...then vanishes. (James 4:14)

But, for aging believers, that knowledge is not without hope. 

These thoughts were whirring. K-Love was playing. Owen piped up---I like that song, Shug.

I like that song as well----especially the verse that reminds me of how fleeting my life is. Such a verse reminds me to make the most of my moments----especially relational moments. It reminds me that God is still with me during this season, watching out for  me, and telling me that I am His. 
Not because of anything this "wilty gal has done, but because of who He is and what He has done on my behalf. Therein lies eternal hope.

I am a flower quickly fading,  Here today and gone tomorrow. A wave tossed in the ocean. A vapor in the wind.Still you hear me calling.Lord, You catch me when I'm falling. And you've told me who I am. 

I am yours. 

Not because of who I am But because of what You've done. Not because of what I've done. But because of who You are. (Casting Crowns)

Listen to this tune, especially if you're feeling wil-TEA, and renew your hope.

"Wil-TEA"

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1. NIV)

Not only does a deer long for water, so does my forsythia!

Desiring a big POP of yellow sunshine at the end of the driveway, I planted a forsythia. Nothing "pops" YELLOW in a landscape quite like this bush.
According to Mother, a forsythia requires sunshine and lots of room to spread as  it grows---"don't contain or shape it, Dotsy. Let it shape itself." Words from long ago that still ring in my head.

Before God sent the rain, I, and hubby, watered it faithfully, or so we thought. It still looked wil-TEA to us----like it needed a big cuppa fresh water. Even my "master gardener neighbor," Lynda used my same term. "Your forsythia really is looking mighty wilty."

Then, the rains came.

Washed by water from the heavens, my forsythia perked up.

I feel the same way when I've been "washed with water (from God) through the word." (Ephesians 5:26)
Cleansed. Refreshed. Perked up.

That's why one's wilting soul "pants" after the Living Water. The One who offers the drink of living water assures us that when we drink deeply, we will never thirst again. (John 4:14)

No more wilting for those who drink from His cuppa.