This spring, maybe I'll plant another cedar. . .

Someone who has ‘borderline personality disorder” told me yesterday that the “cure” takes years of hard work. She described BPD like this: “When someone is growing up it is as if they missed grasping how to cope with life in certain areas. Then, when they encounter issues in those areas, they revert to doing what they did when they were children.”

Not only does a BPD person not know they are acting like a child (after all, a child doesn’t know), they cannot fathom any other way to act. This is confusing to them and worse for their care givers. They must learn new skills, first done by rote and then practice until it clicks in that this response works better than that one.

She added, “Expect at least two years, and only if your granddaughter is willing to work hard and stick with the program. Even though she will live with this the rest of her life, she will get better.”

Oddly, knowing this is better than guessing and didn’t seem like bad news. I know God can produce a miracle (and those always seem to come as a surprise, even when we pray for them), but this news settles me into the long-term. It will not be easy though.

This morning I read from Hosea 14. God says, “I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon.”

I know little about dew except that it makes our grass wet in the morning. My devotional book says that dew is vital to the life and growth of trees and flowers. Sources on the Internet add that dew is particularly important in times of drought, and that some plants seem more able to collect moisture from dew than others.

I know lilies. They grow best in groups, respond well to ample feeding, and have one of the loveliest blooms in my garden. They also multiply quite rapidly.

My only cedar is a dwarf globe. I know the taller variety grows and is famous in Lebanon. I also understand that their roots are dense and grow rapidly too. Normally, nothing grows well in their shade, but at least one person claims that their lilies do fine under their cedars. My devotional book says of this link, “ . . . frail beauty and massive strength united . . . “

God promises to be like dew to His people, my supply in dry times, and my supply as I wait every morning for Him, as I am like the plants that collect the dew. With His blessing, I will not only survive but grow. I already know that in my weakness, like a frail lily, I have His strength.

The Bible does not say if Hosea was a gardener, but God gave him this lovely word picture, a combination of dew, lilies and cedar roots, to remind me that no matter what lies ahead, He will supply all that I need.