Creation Declares the Glory of God
My daughter bought me flowers for Mother’s Day last year: very pink, but very sweet. I don’t hate flowers; I don’t trust my ability to keep them alive. I once bought a dying succulent at Kroger and tried to resurrect it because: they thrive on neglect, they barely need water, and they were cheap. Then, I attempted to re-pot succulents. Nothing I touched in the garden survived. I’m pretty sure they had my face up in the garden section of all stores telling them not to sell to me.
Because it was a gift from my daughter, though, I was determined to care for them and not let them end like their predecessors. I researched how to care for these specific flowers and proceeded to diligently water them, monitor the weather to make sure they got enough sunlight and rain, and even bought organic plant food.
They were thriving! I took so many pictures because I was doing it and wanted to show everyone how good I was doing.
One day, I noticed a wilted flower and a dried out stem. I quickly triaged and pruned the plant and chalked it up to a weak point.
As the days passed, more wilted flowers fell to the ground and dried up stems multiplied quicker than I could keep up. I spent time considering what I was doing wrong, but after trying and continuously failing to bring the blooms back in their original glory, I gave up and watched them die. There was no life left in it. Every time I drove past my house, I felt bitter, empty, and inadequate to care for these flowers, even though I tried my best.
The planter hung there on the hook in front of the house all year. When it was cold, I brought it in, knowing no growth would happen at all during the winter months, and if it was dead then, it’s dead now, and there’s no use in keeping it. But I couldn’t throw it away. I think, maybe, there was just a spark of hope that maybe something could come up from the soil again, but I was 99% sure it wouldn’t.
May 31st, 2022, or the day I wondered “WHAT IS THAT?!”
I was on our front porch, enjoying the warmth late spring brings. My daughter was playing outside. My husband was practicing golf swing. I looked over and noticed a flower had bloomed. I didn’t know how. I hadn’t watered it. I hadn’t fed it. I hadn’t taken care of it. I kept it, but I didn't know how much good that had done until that moment when I saw life popping up out of the soil.
A lone, pink flower stood proud. And my heart soared. I felt a joy like I couldn't explain, a renewal! A true gift of spring had come and I was its beholder.
I wasn’t about to touch it. If life came from where it was right there, there was no way I was going to go test my luck. But as I drew nearer, I saw that there were more buds. There was more green growing from the soil I believed dead. I took a moment to prune out some of the dead sticks I saw lurking in the edges of the pot.
Then I thanked God. I thanked Him for life. I thanked Him for sustaining our souls, tending to them like plants. Throughout the seasons of our life, whether the work is producing beautiful flowers we can all see and admire, or the work is being done beneath the surface of the soil, God is always working in the lives of those He has called according to His purposes for them (Romans 8).
Sometimes, things we believe are beautiful and good for us aren’t good for us forever. And in order to move on to the next good works God has prepared for us, we have to let the old die so the new may develop, be nourished, cultivated, and live.
Sometimes, after we have a “Mountaintop” experience with God and we’re now in one of the “valley” seasons of our life, it can be hard to keep engaging in our spiritual disciplines. Sometimes when you’ve missed a week of the New Testament Chronological reading plan, it’s really hard to pick up and click that “Catch Me Up” button because you’re embarrassed, ashamed, and think, “Why even try?”
I beg you not to give up. The Lord does not turn away those who seek him. Even when it’s hard; Even when you’ve missed a week straight of your Bible reading plan (where are my people?); Even when you are relapsing into an old addiction or behavior. I beg you… do. not. give. up.
There’s no special way you have to approach God. Jesus took care of that for us on the cross; He tore the curtain between us and the holy of holies so that we can boldly approach the throne of God: surrender our will, surrender our hurts and habits. The Bible says when we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us (Colossians 1:19).
If my plants weren’t too dead to spring new life, neither are you. In the song “Way Maker” (Leeland Mooring), we sing: “Even when I don’t see it, you’re working. Even when I don’t feel it, you’re working. You never stop, you never stop working.”
God is working and He never stops working to restore you until the end, when we will be with Him forever. God is working in us to will and to do the things that please him (Philippians 1:6; 2:13).
May we remember that God is omnipresent in every season of life, whether we’re blooming bright and pink like my flowers or we’re seeds beneath the soil, building a foundation in the Lord that cannot be shaken.
