As I’ve been learning to worship God and to place my trust in Him, a crisis will not break me but will reveal that I can go to the point of breaking yet without shattering.

Learning to worship is a process. How does the result of worship manifest itself in my life? I hope it’s a peaceful resting in God. I wish it was every day, but I occasionally find myself as if in an out of body experience, at a peaceful core, resting in God, blameless in His sight because I’m committed to the process of being holy, not being perfect. I take his support, encouragement, nourishment, and pruning knowing that I’m a better person for it.

It’s like growing dahlias in Texas. Fall is the time of enjoying dahlia blooms after a summer of pampering and cultivating. I meticulously plant the tubers in early spring in richly mulched loose soil which does not come naturally in the hard clay of Central Texas. I place tomato cages or other support structures over the buried tubers anticipating the dahlia’s gangly growth. I fortify each stalk, gently tying it to the support so it doesn’t break with each weather crisis. I prune outshoots to promote hardier growth. Then I hope for sun, but not a scorcher, rain, but not a monsoon, a breeze, not hurricane winds.

But oh, how glorious is a mature dahlia flower, as big as a saucer, each bloom imperfect in its asymmetrical color configuration, yet so flamboyantly set apart from the rest of the garden that you can see it across the yard from my back porch.

 God’s cultivating of me is worship. How much do I appreciate it?