The packet of Heavenly Blue morning glory seeds stared up at me from their place next to the box of tissues on the kitchen counter. They were an unwanted gift from my Aunt Cecelia. The day she gave them to me, I silently moaned, Morning glory seeds? I don’t have any place in my garden for a climbing plant. Why didn’t she give me daisies or zinnias? Anything but a climbing plant?
I knew my aunt would ask about them and I contrived all sorts of excuses I could share about why I hadn’t planted them.
“Well, Aunt Cecelia, it’s like this. I had the seeds on the kitchen counter when I accidentally knocked over a pitcher of water. The seeds were drenched and had to be thrown away.”
“You remember that packet of morning glory seeds you gave me? Well, I put them in a very special place and now I can’t find them.”
“I forgot I had them and by the time I remembered, it was well past the suggested planting time.”
The truth was—all my limp excuses made me feel uncomfortable.
A New Perspective for an Unwanted Gift
Tidying up my kitchen, I gathered up the trash and turned toward the steps leading to the back door. And there, right before my eyes, was the solution. I stared at the dented aluminum railing on either side of the cement steps. It desperately needed a fresh coat of paint, but I had little energy to improve its appearance.
Suddenly, the thought of lush green flowering vines covering that eyesore thrilled me. I’d plant the seeds and let them climb the railing! Two problems solved at once! Suddenly, I saw the problem railing and an unwanted gift differently. Suddenly they both had value.
Relishing my discovery, I began to think about my life. Here I was, a single mother with no job, facing a divorce. One doctor had given me a 2 percent chance to be alive in ten years. I knew I couldn’t give up because I had my son to consider.
After finding value in those unwanted morning glory seeds, I thought maybe I could do the same with some of my painful losses.
In the years that followed, as God restored my life, I uncovered many gifts in the midst of undesirable circumstances. I didn’t want the seeds and I wouldn’t have chosen my difficulties. Yet both made a positive difference; the seeds transformed my railing and my troubling times transformed me.
God Will Restore Our Circumstances
God is able to restore the most terrible circumstances by turning them into something beautiful. If we want to grow through unwanted challenges, grieving our losses is where we must choose to start. Only then can we see the beauty God delivers.
What unwanted circumstances are you facing today? Ask God to help you see things differently—from His perspective—and help transform you as He transforms your situation.
“I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.”
– Joel 2:25 (ESV)
Warmly,
Georgia Shaffer
