Don’t you admire the tenacity of a flower? These blossoms have endured a late winter snowstorm, ice, hail and non-stop rain to bloom where they are planted. [slideshow]
As God’s children we also endure trials and storms, and sometimes I marvel at the tenacity of people who are standing in their time of trouble.
In recent days I’ve admired the faith of a woman who left home with her husband one evening, to discover when they returned only the front door remained. In their absence the house had burned to the ground. “It’s only stuff,” she said. No one she loved was harmed.
I’ve watched the courage of a woman who is walking beside friends whose young child is battling cancer. This week they learned the treatment is not working. She stood by and supported them while they cried.
I’ve felt the heartache of a set of parents who anxiously await the arrival of their soldier son from Afghanistan, the target of a sniper who pierced the boy’s lung with his bullet. He’s alive with an uncertain future, but he is home.
I’ve witnessed the resolve of a wife whose husband is facing another round of treatment for a tumor they thought was gone. She’s been here before, yet she’s willing to stand by her man.
God tells us in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble.” Those aren’t the words of a slick politician trying to garner votes; they come straight from the mouth of the Savior himself. But there’s more to the verse: “but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
In Jonah 2:2 the writer says “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me.”
God doesn’t say trials and storms won’t come to us. They will. He promises to walk with us through them. Like the flowers above, we must follow through on the task set before us.
Psalm 103: 1-4 talks about God’s faithfulness.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits
Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction
Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies
Who satisfies your mouth with good things.”
That’s a promise that will keep me pushing forward in spite of the disappointments, the storms, and the trials that would see me undone.
I want the flower of my life to bloom.
Beautiful, and so true. Thank you for the lovely thoughts. Heidi Gaul
I think we sometimes feel cheated when bad things happen to us, as though we don’t understand that if we live long enough, sorrow will at some time visit us, as it does everyone. Good to be reminded by words like yours that we have a God who walks with us and feels with us.
I love flowers and definitely feel that God loved us very much to create flowers for us. Your example of flowers that typiify the troubles of living is beautiful.