Hope to Bloom Again

 

As I stepped outside I was confronted with these beautiful roses. My first thought was, “When did this happen?” I am certain these weren’t in bloom the day before. Or were they? I do know that I have done nothing to care for these rose bushes since last year. They have not been fertilized. They have not been trimmed. They have not been tended in any way after being exposed through all the winter’s freezing weather. Yet here they are, strong and beautiful as ever.

The word that came to my mind was resilient. These are tough roses. They endure. They take all Mother Nature has to give and come back to share their beauty once more. It seems to me that this is a big part of what makes them beautiful. From what appears to be nothing more than a tangle of dead thorns, the most beautiful of flowers bloom again.

I have known some people like this along the way of my journey. They have endured hard times. They have weathered many storms. At times their lives have seemed nothing more than a tangle of dead thorns. Yet they emerge strong and beautiful on the other side of things. Like the roses, somehow the hardship they have known makes them even more beautiful.

Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

Each time we bloom after a hard time, we are both experiencing and revealing the power of God’s love in our life. In our struggles may we find strength. In our struggles may others find hope as we bloom again.

Peace.