Asset or Liability?

I am dealing with aphids in my roses lately. I have tried all the various solutions from an organic perspective because I have pets that frequent my yard from time to time, to enjoy the sun. So I can't have pets harmed in the process to rid my beautiful roses from the pesky, green, bud suckers, known as aphids!

I have tried the soap and water solution, but it only leaves my buds ugly once they actually bud, almost like they have been burnt.

I have tried a science experiment with coffee grounds and so far it is helping although they aren't completely gone.

I have tried rinsing them off with a garden hose but they just seem to crawl right on back.

I have tried fertilizer that promises to rid my roses of aphids but I still see them every morning, having a great meal on me!

So what's a gardener to do??? Aphids, they are my roses liability. They aren't killing my plants just making the buds harder to form, and if I were a bee looking for some much needed pollen, I am not going any where need that ugly bud.

So I continue to search, and you know what I can across scattered like little red drops of paint in my lawn, while I was out watering??? You guessed it! Lady Bugs!

I think I found about 10 this morning, and each time, I found one, I would gently pick it up and place it on a rose bush, and let them have a free meal on me! Satisfaction!

I have read on the internet where you can purchase these in great quantities but how do you keep them from flying away? It has to do with the sun. They will stay in the dawn and just before a full sunset. Where they go after that? Who knows?

I saw it as a small sign this morning that God knew was troubling me. He knew for weeks now I was having issues with the aphids and quietly and gently offered me a solution, if only I were to look for it. Ladybugs!

The lady bugs are now the asset I was searching for. They don't harm my roses, they look beautiful and soon my roses will be aphid free!

We are like that as well in our walk with God. We read the Bible so we know how we are supposed to be living our lives but we don't always do it. We take a vacation. We may skip church, skip a time where we could have spent a few minutes with God, or instead of sharing the great news of salvation with someone, we simply walk away. We become a liability! We aren't doing what we know we should be doing and we feel guilty at the end of the day.

When we don't spend time with God, it's like telling our earth father, you know, not today dad. I know you were really looking to talking, or just hanging out, but I am kinda busy today. Maybe next weekend. God smiles and then waits. He waits to see when we will have time for Him. He waits like a parent whose kids have moved out and living on their own, waiting for a phone call, a letter or better yet an actual visit from us.

But as long as we don't need dad, or mom for that matter, we don't call. We don't write and we postpone that visit. However, the first sign of trouble that we can't handle on our own, where do we turn? Yup, that father we pushed off. Dad, I need to borrow some money or dad, can you help me move, or dad, can you bail me out of jail?

Sometimes though, dad doesn't always come through. Sometimes his heart gets hardened by our treatment of him. Those promises we made and never fulfilled. Those debts we have never repaid, and yet he sits there alone with his thoughts. The thought that maybe just this once if he helps, we will change. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't.

Thankfully our God, our Heavenly Father, is not like that. He sees every opportunity to reunite with us and help us in our time of need like the first time we ask. Even it's the 100th time. He never grows tired. He is our biggest asset though we can remain the biggest liability.

It's time we took inventory now that it's spring. Time for a little cleaning house. Is there a family member you made promises to and never found the time to fulfill them? A debt to be repaid, a kindness to be given. I think it's time that we stop becoming a liability for God's purpose for us being here, and start becoming the asset He sees in us everyday.

What will you choose?