Death to Passion....the end has come.

Greetings! No, this isn't a depressing, sad post....a somewhat bittersweet, happy post!

I must explain the title:

For the last four years (since we've run this group home), I have been nursing a beautiful Passion Flower (pictured here). I bought it because I needed to see REAL growth. The kids in our group home were always growing, but not very fast and sometimes it felt like they weren't growing at all. So I bought a "difficult to grow in the northwest" plant because I wanted a pet...something to watch....something to observe, something beautiful that didn't talk back, fight or hate my cooking...something to teach me.

Every year I fertilized it, killed its awful pests like earwigs and aphids. I pruned it, cut its flowers to bless others and in the winter, I would bundle it up with fleece and newspaper to make sure this tropical plant would make it to the next spring without difficulty.

The Lord used it in so many ways throughout our time here. It would grow up to 100 feet every summer!!! It was the talk of the neighborhood and I had the opportunity to tell its admirers the story of the Passion (where it got its name).

I would wait with bated breath each spring to see the first sign of growth on it....and then it would take off covering the entire fence with blossoms and bees. I knew the Lord gave the plant to me to keep me going through the tough spots in our job.

But this year, with the harsh extended winter, the Passion Flower Vine died. Yes, I went out in late February to fertilize it and realized that the bark had turned a deep brown. I fertilized it anyway and hoped for the best. Then in March, I gave it a little shake to see if its branches were soft or crackly.....soft, it was holding on for dear life. Then in April, I took the fleece off, fertilized it once more and pruned it.

Then today, with the bark as black as poop, the branches cracked off....dead. I peeled the bark to see if there was a pest that could be blamed for the death....no pest. Clean.

Then God spoke to me.....He said, "I gave that plant to YOU and now that you are leaving, I am taking it away. You aren't going to be here to take care of it and no one will be blessed by it as much as you, so I want you to take it out. Your time here is done."

For me, it was another confirmation that God has ordained our steps. We were to stay here in the group home four years, not two, not three, four. And we were to leave. The Passion Flower's season had ended and ours, too.

Saturday, we said a weepy good-bye to our favorite girls in our group home and ached deep inside. We've had them for all four years and no doubt they will always have a place in our home wherever we go.
They have grown so much...more than any plant ever could. We will never forget the Lord's goodness, His provision, and the simple pleasures He's given me.....like my Passion Flower.

Be blessed and keep us in your prayers! Week one of my new nutrition plan from the naturopath is finished! The moving sale went awesome! This week is moving week and we are running around like chickens with our heads chopped off! My dear friend, Heather, is coming this weekend to hang and be a blessing (which isn't hard for her to do!)! AND, we have a final farewell benefit concert happening at our church on June 2 featuring a number of artists! It's free and it should be a gas! Let me know if you're interested in coming. June 24th is our last Sunday at our church, too. They are praying over us and sending us off. If any of you can make it, please come as we would like to say good-bye. The service starts at 10 am. Have a blessed weekend!