You have probably heard the saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” We all are products of our environments, and it is true that what goes in also eventually also comes out. A good illustration of that truth is the hydrangea flowering plant.

As with all plants, hydrangeas need the proper soil conditions along with the right balance of sunlight, shade, and water to grow and bloom. Unlike most other flowers, the hydrangea is unique in that it is a litmus test for soil conditions. Just as our genetic makeup determines the color of our hair and our eyes, the pigment of the flowers of most plants is based upon the hereditary genome of the plant, or in other words, its genetic makeup. The color of the flowers of the hydrangea is determined not so much by genetics, but rather, by the soil conditions. The color of the flower is based upon the plant’s cultivar (variety) and soil pH. In most cases, acidic (low pH) soil will produce blue flowers, neutral soil will produce purple flowers, and alkaline (high pH) soil will produce pink flowers.

So, for hydrangeas, it is true that “what goes in does comes out” in the color of the blooms. Horticulturists and amateur gardeners alike can determine the condition of the soil just by looking at the color of the hydrangea flowers.

Just like the hydrangea, the condition of our souls can also be determined by the color of our flowers. Along with regular exercise and sleep, what we eat and drink and ingest into our bodies affects our weight and physical health. And while keeping ourselves physically healthy is very important, keeping our souls healthy is just as important. John the apostle, in the opening words of 3 John, penned this to his friend Gaius – “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” (1:2).

Our souls need constant care, and the condition of our soul is determined by just about everything going on in us and around us. God cares about the condition of your soul, and it is God who can help change the condition of your soul (soil). We find this invitation to the thirsty in Isaiah 55 – “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David” (v.3). To read in context, Isaiah 55.

Scripture gives us a list of the colors of the flowers that come from healthy soil. Those colors are found in Ephesians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Not only will your flowers be beautiful by having healthy souls, but having a healthy soul will help you have a healthier body and live a healthier life.    

What we eat, drink, watch, read, believe, say and do, really does affect the condition of our souls, and thus, the color of our flowers. I encourage you to look at your lifestyle and your relationship with God, and then look in the mirror at the color of your blooms, and ask yourself, “Do I like what I see?” If not, begin changing your soil condition and watch the color of your flowers change too.

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Do you ever feel as if your every move is being watched? As a kid, no matter how hard I tried to sneak around, my parents always seemed to have “eyes in the back of their heads.”

J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime Director of the FBI, is well known to have compiled confidential files on a great many Americans, much of which exceeded the jurisdiction of the FBI. For those in Hoover’s crosshairs, every move was surveilled and recorded, often to be used as blackmail.

I am told by people wiser than me that there were certain things my group of friends and I did in college that were not always the smartest things to do. I question that interpretation but let’s assume it is somewhat correct. Those days were long before cell phones, the growth of surveillance and tracking devices, doorbell cams, and social platforms, so, I say, show me the evidence. But, today, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” no longer stays in Vegas. It is now able to be viewed by millions of people, often as it is still in progress. Bought anything online lately? Every purchase is surveilled there as well.

Many people feel like every move they make is scrutinized. I once worked for a company where the boss seemed to know how many times that I left my desk or went to the bathroom. I believe that most people like to feel as if they are seen, but not to the point where they have no privacy. My wife and I enjoy spending time with each other but we also at certain times just need our own space, not having our every move monitored and inspected. None of us likes to be watched every minute of every day. We like some level of privacy. Usually when someone is under constant surveillance it is not for their benefit, but rather, for the purpose of catching them in some act; to be able to them say “Aha, I caught you!”

We have a God who watches over us every minute of every day, constant surveillance if you will, not to “catch us,” but instead, to help us. We are never out of His sight. He keeps a watchful eye on us to guide us, protect us, correct us, all done in the name of love.

Psalm 139 is a beautiful reminder of God’s perfect knowledge of every man, woman and child. It begins with these words – “You have searched me, LORD, and know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, you lay your hand upon me” (vv.1-5).

The psalm goes on to tell us that God created us and knitted us in our mother’s womb. He knew us and was with us even before we were born, and that today, wherever we are, He is. David, the writer of this psalm, pleads with God to never leave him. He ends the psalm with these words – “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

So, today, in a world of constant and often invasive surveillance, be thankful that we have a God, a Loving Father, who knows your every move, your every struggle, your every need, and who says to you – where you are, I am also, lean on me, listen to me, trust in Me!

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One of the things I really enjoy is spending time at the beach. When my wife and I lived in North Carolina, we went to the beach at regularly. In addition to just sitting under an umbrella and reading, we enjoyed taking long walks, splashing our feet in the water as we walked. On those walks we would take our trusty little blue bucket with the smiley face to hold the shells.

There was no set criteria for the shells we collected; we just knew we “liked” a particular shell when we saw it. We filled our bucket with shells that were pleasing to us, while leaving the broken and shattered pieces lying on the sand.

Today, we have glass container after glass container of shells in our house. When we moved, our kids helped us, and they soon got tired of lifting so many boxes filled with shells.

There is much similarity between those broken shells and how the world views each of us. We all have defects and imperfections, and while the world often picks us up, looks us over, then throws us back on the pile due to our defects and imperfections, God does not “select” us based upon our outward appearance. Unlike the broken shells that we left behind on the beach, God picks us up from the pile of broken shells. While sometimes He glues our broken pieces back together, other times He uses us with our broken pieces. His plan in both cases is to reach the world with His message of redemption and restoration. God sees more than just our broken pieces, more than our flaws, He sees us as He made us. He sees us in His image (see Genesis 1:27).

If you know the story of David in the Old Testament, you know that he was not a likely candidate to be anointed the next king after Saul. David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons and just a scrawny little kid. God chose Samuel to pick the next king so as Samuel looked over Jesse’s sons, he saw Eliab who was the biggest and strongest, and based upon Eliab’s physical appearance, Samuel figured Eliab was next to be king. But God spoke to Samuel and gave him a new standard by which to pick the next king.

In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read these words – “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”

What is today’s message? Maybe you feel ignored or overlooked, just like those broken shells that we left lying on the beach. You feel like the kid who never gets picked to be on the kickball team. Or maybe you look back at your life and say to yourself – I have really blown it, I have too many broken pieces and I am beyond repair.

The good news is that God sees perfection in all of us and he does not just collect the unblemished shells, he also collects the ones that others have left lying on the sand. He works in our lives to redeem and restore all that is broken. God picks you up and puts you in His bucket as He walks the beach. He sees past the blemishes, the broken pieces, and the cracks. He sees what could be, not what is!

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Do you like waiting? Of course you don’t. Neither do I. There is much psychology behind this idea of waiting, but I will not delve too deeply into that today other than to say we often view waiting as an imposition. Waiting in line at the grocery store. Calling customer service and being told you are number six in the queue. A delayed flight. They all seem more like torture. The worst in us often comes out in this kind of waiting. What is road rage? Often nothing more than impatience which leads us to say or do things that are not becoming of us.

But there is also “good” waiting. Waiting that allows us to better prepare for something. Think about the athlete who works hard every day in practice, improving their skills, stuck behind the all-star player, waiting two seasons to finally become the starter.    

There are two kinds of waiting – passive and active. I will define the passive form as simply waiting for something to occur (waiting in line) whereas the active form is doing something to prepare ourselves in order to better make use of a future opportunity (my athlete scenario above).

We tend to become negative and cynical in passive waiting. We become impatient. Again, think road rage. Active waiting chooses to believe that there is a beneficial purpose in the delay, allowing us to be (somewhat) patient amid the waiting.

The world around us never seems to be in any hurry to give us what we want, need, desire. God too never seems to be in any hurry. At least in a hurry according to my definition of hurry – something like tomorrow is fine, but today, even better! God’s timing very often differs from our timing. He knows the best time for things to happen: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

For those of who wait upon God, our waiting could be passive, meaning we just sit and wait for God to act. But I believe that God desires to use our waiting to keep us in step with Him. He wants our waiting to be active, asking “What are You trying to accomplish in this time of wait?”

God gives purpose to our waiting. He works in our waiting as well. And because we are waiting on a faithful God, there is hope in our waiting. Psalm 130:5-6 tells us so – “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Do you see it – waiting, hoping, watching.

Isaiah 40:31 puts the hope we can have this way: “But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Psalm 27 is a great place for us to turn to when we are forced to wait. In this psalm, David expresses his confidence in God as his source of all that he needs, even as he waits to see those blessings. I will break this psalm down into four sections:

(1) Trust in the Lord (vv.1-3);

(2) Seek the Lord (4-6);

(3) Pray to the Lord (7-12);

(4) And now for most of us, the hard one – Confident waiting on the Lord (13-14): “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

I encourage you to read the entire psalm (click the highlighted link above), looking for the four themes I have referenced. And let this psalm boost your confidence in the Lord, even in the waiting!

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