Monday, June 19, 2006

Resilience

Main Entry: re·sil·ience
Pronunciation: ri-'zil-y&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

I truly love gardening. Although I'm sure my husband thinks otherwise when he watches yet-to-be planted flowers wilting in their pots. Never fear, I say. Last night I planted a few hapless petunias and nicotania. They looked rather sad and droopy once they were placed in the container, and continued to look pathetic even after I watered them well. This morning however, after an early morning rainshower, I peeked outside and their faces were upturned, their colors bright and their leaves looked strong and healthy. And I was pleased that I had not given up on them.

Are you resilient? Do you bounce back easily? Although I'd like to think I'm pretty resilient, admittedly sometimes I still feel a bit wilted and droopy after a crisis hits or change rolls my way. I know though, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will bounce back. I will get up again. Not because of anything I do or any great power I possess. And certainly not because I feel like it or have the strength to do so. But I will, simply because the life that is in me is not of me. It's of Christ. And He never gives up on His own.

Resilience. I'm liking that word this week!

2 comments:

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

I guess I don't normally think of myself as resilient. Crises and hardships can really take their toll on me. But when I look back over my life, I see that I have recovered, I have bounced back, from the things that life has thrown at me. I know it's because God gives me the strength to keep going and to watch for His hand to work.

Jeannine said...

I guess by God's grace I'm pretty resilient.

Isn't amazing that when we water plants they do okay, but when God waters them they really thrive. I really notice a difference in our garden from when we use the sprinkler and when God sends a good, soaking rain--or even a torrential downpour.