What is your potential?

 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Grass springs up quickly, but if there is no water for it, the grass soon become dry, brittle, and withered. The soil may be good, but the water is necessary for the continued growth to occur. Productivity is not always the result of just being 'connected' by roots - the conditions that foster growth must also be met.

Grass has the potential, but without care, even its potential is lost. The potential? It acts as a cover to the soil, making it less likely to erode. It provides nutrients to the soil, and it can become the haven for all manner of 'growth' just beneath its surface. Potential is good but realizing that potential and living up to it may be just a bit harder.

Flowers bloom and provide a whole lot of beauty, but they don't last very long, do they? The short-lived beauty is quite nice, but it is much better to enjoy beauty all year round! God wants us to allow his beauty to come forth, but it must be cultivated in order to continually 'bloom'. 

Flowers only produce a fragrance while they are blooming. Their petals may have a little bit of an 'enduring' quality to them, but that will soon fade. When they wither and dry completely, that fragrance is soon lost. The attractiveness of the flower may be its outward beauty to some, but it is the fragrance that is produced that draws in all manner of 'hungry' and 'thirsty' creatures!

God has planned for much beauty and growth. We must never forget the potential he sees in us. If we fulfill that potential, others will benefit greatly from it. Just sayin!