I have a long-time writer friend, Wendy Murray, who has a Patreon where she publishes short devotions three times per week. Monday’s posting was titled “Encourage One Another,” and was particularly moving, and I wanted to share it with you!
encourage

macdonald

Wendy’s Reflection

In this post I have used a photo of a poppy I took several summers ago when I worked for a season in a wealthy woman’s extravagant formal gardens. The gardens were vast, manicured, and filled with innumerable varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees. Yet, despite the extravagance of the garden, the essence of it still came down to the delicate petals of each plant. The petals of the poppy, pictured above, are more delicate than crepe paper. Yet they carry the morning dew and open wide to catch the life given from the sun. It is a picture of the human soul, I think. Our lives are short (on the landscape of eternity), and yet while we have life we each are given a purpose. Until we find that holy purpose, we are only half-way there, as suggested by George MacDonald’s words about uniting human will with God’s will. So I defer to the encouragement of the opening Scripture verse exhorting us to encourage one another as long as it is day. For our days are short and the petals of our lives are fragile. They need the warmth of the sun to rise to a full bloom. 

___________
This reflection almost made me cry. We are here such a short time.
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me over the years. I am so grateful to you.