Restless, that’s what I was. It was so hot outside this past summer, that even the mosquitoes weren’t moving. But I needed to get out of the house. I grabbed the camera, and went on a field trip in my own yard. Funny, the things you see when you open your eyes!

This first thing that caught my eye was a lot of mushrooms growing in the yard. The mushrooms had sprouted after a recent rainfall. But there were TONS of them!

Did you know that mushrooms are the tip of a fungus that lies buried under the soil? A fungus grows by breaking down organic matter. In a lawn, that organic material could be buried timber, a stump, or tree or shrub roots that remain underground after plants have been removed. Who knew?

We had cut down a very large pin oak. It was sucking all the moisture out of the ground, possibly causing foundation damage to our house. After a time, the mushrooms even sprouted on the stump.

Think about it. A nasty fungus, breaking down something that shouldn’t be there, and making it more useful.

It reminds me of what James said:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” James 1:2 (NASB)

James knew nasty, stanky, fungus-filled trials can produce endurance. The bad, producing good; the mushrooms of life, making the soil of our heart more productive.

For His Glory,