Let Your Faith
BLOOM by SHANNON KAPRIVE
I WAS WALKING INTO THE GARDEN CENTER, when to my right, I noticed the cart containing bundled rose bushes, and the sign that read for $2.99 each. What a bargain! Spotting a clerk, I asked why so cheap….was anything wrong with them? “No,” she said, “just leftover!” I immediately loaded my cart with an abundance of them in all colors and took them home and headed to my garden. Very lovingly, I planted them, and watered them every day, and fertilized them, and fed them, and talked to them, and pruned them, and treated them for disease at the first hint of trouble. It was a daily commitment, as I nurtured “those babies” and encouraged them to grow into something beautiful. And then it happened… One morning as I entered the courtyard, my roses were in full bloom. They were so beautiful… I immediately cut several to bring inside to put in a crystal vase. So wonderful, as I reflected on their beauty. And I couldn’t help but think how beautiful our lives could be as well, if like the roses, we allowed our lives to be led and nurtured by our Heavenly Father. • For He has chosen us and loved us, as I had chosen and loved the roses! In fact, He has loved us unconditionally. • He has fed us with His Word…with streams of living water, • He has pruned us repeatedly with life challenges, cutting us to the core at times with tragedy and pain and challenges, as He molds us into His likeness. • He has restored us and forgiven us so many times while never leaving our side, just as I never left the roses. 32
LADYLOWCOUNTRY.COM
October 2016
• And finally, we bloom with radiance from the experience and growth of each trial, so ready to add beauty where we are planted or harvested… truly His radiance so evident as he continues to author our lives for impact in our homes, and with our families, and in our churches, and in our communities… Truly the result of His labor. Yes, the roses bloomed this summer — so beautiful in time, just like our lives! Great is your faithfulness Lord! “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, but his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…” — Lamentations 3:22-23. And that’s how it is with our lives and with God. He is so much bigger than we are. Amidst life challenges and daily trials, we have a small vision of life, but He has a big vision that is years beyond our generation. Our daily struggle is so often His victory in the making. A friend of mine the other day said God is always up to something beautiful. It is not for us to know. It is His timing that is so absolutely perfect. Like the cheap, leftover rose cuttings, we may often feel like “we’re not much” — but we are! We are valuable because of “who we are,” because of “who He made us to be,” and with love, nurturing and total commitment, we can easily blossom into his masterpiece! It’s a lifelong journey. May mercy, grace, and eternal bliss become real for you, too, as you step forward in faithfulness each day believing in Him!