The Frangipani is one beautiful flower..

My sister in law sent a pic of a flower that grew outside her apartment door in Australia. I thought it was the most beautiful thing. Considering it was winter here and summer down under, I was filled with the instant desire to be taken away to a warm place where the flowers were in bloom and their fragrance filled the air. Well, I couldn't do that so I had to just settle with the thought. In December, she had returned from her year long stay in Aussie Land, and I thought it would be nice to draw some frangipani’s (photo below) for her so she could be reminded of all that the Lord did while she was at Hillsong College.
In all its fragrant beauty, even the days of this flower are numbered. The beauty withers and dries up, no longer does its sweet scent fill the air. Sometimes we can relate to this in our lives, not about passing on but about seasons we enter in and out of. I have found myself at a time in my walk with Christ where it was so filled with wonderful color and oh so much fragrance... it is still somewhat the same, but not as it was then. It was for a season. What do we know about seasons? Well, they are cyclical, that means they come around full circle, again and again..
This is nice if your season was enjoyable. What if it was not so great? What does this mean? I have to go through that again? Possibly, maybe, perhaps...but one thing is for sure- When the Lord is with you, you CAN stand! The breath of the Lord blows on our lives carrying us and guiding us in the direction that is good. We can be assured that even though the times pass and we enter into different "seasons" that the word of the Lord STANDS FOREVER. Grass withers and the flowers fade....Press into the Lord today and hold your head up, knowing He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“ All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40: 6-8.

"Let Not Your Hands be Weak"

Zephaniah 3-16,17
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

" The Lord, your God- in your midst"...Wow. This is always made so visual to me when I picture the Tabernacle of Moses. This statement alone should blow any believer away. I know it does this for me. Last month I attended Joanna Fruhauf's study on the Tabernacle of Moses. Instantly I was taken back as if I was getting a bird's eye view of the the whole layout. I couldn't help thinking, "Wow, the presence of God was in their midst!" His presence was with the children of Israel! He must have really loved them! He did and He still has that same love even for us. This stuck with me as I had gone to bed that night into the morning. I was reminded of the scripture in Zephaniah 3: 16,17. At that moment, I recollected a sketch in a journal that I had done a few years ago of a harp..and on that page I had written this very scripture! The Lord our God is in our midst and He will rejoice over us with gladness, He quiets us with his love, He will rejoice over us with singing! He does all this and more! To think that He has the same love, and the desire for us to be in His presence as He did so many years ago. I am privileged to know such a Lord. How awesome to know that the Tabernacle of Moses was a foreshadowing of the coming Christ! I am so humbled that such an awesome, mighty God would have such deep concern, adoration and love for us!

Yes and one more thing- Don't let your hands be weak! HE IS WITH YOU!! No matter what you may be experiencing in this moment, know that you are not doing it alone- The Lord, your God is in your midst! He is no respector of persons- remember the Isrealites also struggled in obeying God. We all fall short, but He gives us the strength to overcome the greatest obstacles we face if we would cry and call out unto Him.