He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
Mentions of thistles in the Bible are primarily negative, and they aren’t always at the top of a gardener’s list of plants for the yard. They have prickly leaves and are a weed that can spread quickly.
However, once the gardener realizes they attract tons of incredible insects and have many benefits for a garden, they change their minds.
When it goes to seed, the thistle produces a soft and fluffy white down. It is a favorite nesting material for many birds (how cozy)!
Evidently, on the night Santa was sighted in our poem, he flew away into the wind like the down of a thistle.
The common thistle wears the color of royalty, purple!
It seems to be an annoyance but is really quite helpful!
When its time has come to an end, it leaves behind something beautiful that other animals can use!
I think we Christians have a lot in common with the thistle!
We wear the sinless nature Christ bought for us on the cross, our royal King!
Our adherence to God’s laws and the Holy Spirit within us can seem unappealing to the world until they see the fruits of the Spirit and God’s love in our life once they get to know us!
When we are called to our final home, we should aim to leave behind a beautiful legacy that lives on and is a blessing for generations after us!
Yes, we are like thistles!
Wear the royalty of Jesus proudly, my friend! Be an example of the wonderful life available to those that go against the ways of the world and follow the Lord!
And remember, the sacrifices you make today to train your children up in the way of the Lord will be your lasting legacy for years to come through their children and their children’s children!
SURPRISE PRESENT
Thistle crafts!
I have a link here for a website with this cute paint project and couple other thistle projects to check out!
This guy is simple: paint the palm green and the fingers purple and press the hand onto a sheet of paper.
It would be simple to add some leaves by pressing the side of the arm next to the stem (and messier)!
It could be really fun to do two prints, and make the second one white on top, showing the thistle has gone to seed.
I really like the multiple images in different colors. The image with red I created in Paint3D just to give you an idea of what the thistle going to seed would look like on a different background color. It reminds me of Andy Warhol’s pop art images, like Marilyn Monroe.
Marlin Diptych
[After Christmas is over, this would be a fun project! You could use the hand or switch to feet and do contrasting paint on colored paper!]
To give our project the finishing touch, it would be terrific to add some text by each finger.
I’ve created the image below in Paint3D and added lines of text that show how we are like thistles.
*Wear the sinless nature of Christ!
*Show others your fruit!
*Leave a lasting legacy!
Have fun with this and make it your own!
Tomorrow is the last day of our 27 days of Advent. See you then!