Do you know what a lotus pod is? I had no clue but I do now. Virginia needed forty of them for some wedding decoration. They grow in ponds like lily pads, and over the past month the gorgeous pink flowers have bloomed and the tall seed pods rising from the water have turned from green to brown. Now, in September, the pods are dark brown, hard and dried, and bowing over their slender stems. The pods are too heavy for their stems, and it almost looks as though the pods are bowing in prayer. Virginia sent me wading into a snake-infested pond to break off these lotus pods. I got to thinking about it. The lotus pods are a lot like us. We stand tall and proud when we are young and green. We think the world is our personal little hill to conquer. We have such high dreams of health and wealth and loving relationships and family, and then life marches on, one problem after another piles on our shoulders. Pretty soon life seems much too heavy to carry. And so, like the lotus pod, we bow under the weight of life. God wants us to bow our heads in prayer when life overwhelms. Let Him offer His help and care. Don’t ever forget the words of Jesus, who said, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
– Dr. Tim Thompson