Nasty But Necessary

(view through my pollen-covered windshield one Sunday morning)

Pollen. That's almost like a cuss word here in the South during the spring months! It's finally gotten to where at least my car doesn't have a fresh yellowish-green fuzzy coating of the stuff every morning now. I breathe a sigh of relief over that!

But just a couple of weeks ago, that was not the case!  A few Sundays ago as I walked from my front door to my car headed to church, I noticed the dogwood trees were decked out in their beautiful white "Sunday best" blooms.  When I backed out of the carport to turn around, the same dogwood trees were right in front of me.  But to my surprise I could barely recognize them through my windshield that had been covered with a thick layer of pollen during the night.

I thought to myself, "Why do we have to have this nasty stuff anyway?"  That brought back memories from earlier school years and science classes. I know that pollen is necessary. Without it plants would not be able to reproduce. They would eventually die.

And even though I realize and accept these scientific truths....I still hate the sneezing, the scratchy eyes, nose, and throat,  and the watery eyes that comes with the pollen each season.  Isn't that a lot like life in general? There are things that we go through that really bother us. That hurt us. That aggravate us. That we hate! But some of these things...not all mind you.... are really needful and helpful to us in the long run. Some of the hard and difficult times in our lives are actually growing experiences and can make us better persons.  Especially this is true in our spiritual lives I think.

Let's face it...none of us like all that pollen floating around in the air in our face making us sick! But without it we would cease to see any more plants living and growing. It's nasty...but necessary for reproduction. And at the same time we don't like to go through times of trial and heartache.  But without them we would cease to grow in our spiritual lives.  We need that growth so that we can witness to others and they can find eternal life through Jesus Christ.

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

May God bless you is my prayer!

Marilyn