God instilled perseverance in just about everything He created. I can often see examples of this around me.

On my back patio, (a tiny cement slab with a row of patio squares around it) I spotted a two foot high plant proudly showing dark pink blooms. It had squeezed its way through a very small crack. I had watched it grow, thinking, when it was small, that I should pull it up. But I never did. Now I enjoy the happy little blooms and wonder at the tenacity of the plant.

It’s just doing what God intended: grow, bloom, spread/multiply. I am surrounded by many plants and trees doing the same things. My yard seems to be very fertile and welcomes plants and trees of all kinds. I have a five foot oak sapling growing in front of my kitchen window – that I will cut down. It’s just in the wrong place. Usually I try to nurture these unexpected gifts, trimming the little trees, moving other volunteer plants to a safer spot. (Where I can enjoy them.)

I consider them all as personal Blessings from God.

And there is a lesson to be learned, too.

Perseverance.

This is especially meaningful to me in my Cancer Fight. It’s as though God is telling me: ‘Don’t give up. Keep fighting, keep trying to find a way to go on. Push your way through the frustration, the waiting, everything that goes with fighting Cancer. And I AM with you.”

Thank you Father. You always know when I need encouragement!

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11