How an extrovert can be a help to people

This all started with the petunias.

I have told you about them before. Yes, petunias grow in the hostile environment of a pine tree although need care and more care than some of the other plants.

I took a ten day trip and was a bit hesitant to leave my "babies" so early in the season.  Would they be okay on their own?  We have a sprinkler system but we are on water restriction (2 days a week) and the sprinkler water does not cover all the ground as we intend. (If I ever plan another garden, it's the drip system for the garden.)

I returned and when I glanced out my kitchen window at my beloved garden, my heart sank. Half of the petunias were dead, or at least, looked dead.  I could tell they had been neglected.....not really through the fault of anyone. No one keeps watch over my garden as I do. While I was gone, Denver had a serious heat wave. Both of these things added to what happened to the petunias.

Before sinking into despair, I picked up the watering can, filled it and went down to carefully water those plants.  They looked awful. I was giving them as much "encouragement" as I could. I hoed the soil around the plants. That evening I fertilized them.  For the next week, I visited the plants every morning and evening, giving them TLC.

I am happy to report that the petunias have revived. As you can see from this picture, the petunias on the right had not been affected.

Now what does this have to do with helping people?

Some people need more attention and care than others.  There are billions of people alive today and I don't know how many lived in the past but we are all different. Some of us need more  tender loving care than others.

Since extroverts tend to be VERY people-oriented, as we walk with Christ, we need to ask the Spirit to show us people who need some attention.

I look forward to a party, even a party where I don't know anyone. I ask the Lord, "Who needs someone to talk to?" I've worked hard at asking good questions, keeping the focus off me, looking a person in the eye, showing them that I truly am interested in them. I find people and their stories fascinating.  I do not start talking to people on airplanes (I kind of like that time alone up in the air.) If a person starts to talk to me, I will engage them because they might be one of those petunias that needs more care.  I've had some really amazing airplane trips in that regard.

Romans 15: 1-Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

Philippians 2: 4- do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Romans 12: 10- Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor

Romans 12: 16-Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Romans 14: 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

Romans 15: 7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Galatians 6: 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Ephesians 4: 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

Ephesians 4: 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.


So remember to look out for those "petunia people" who need care.  And if you have a garden, look out for those flowers that need more care as well.