A Heap of Petals

 

“...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3

I wrote not long ago about when God unfolds a rose; and I shared pics of a flower from my beautiful, new rose bush we added to our rose garden this spring. 

I sure enjoyed watching that flower from a new bud until it was fully unfolded. Then, I snipped it and took it to share with a friend, then brought it back to enjoy its beauty until...

Well, it lasted quite longer than I anticipated in a makeshift vase I improvised with - a sports souvenir cup advertising Coca-Cola. Yeah, I know, but the inferior vase didn’t take away from its beauty and sweet aroma in the least bit. I enjoyed it so!

The other day, my hubby called me into the kitchen. There, on the counter lay delicate petals from the luscious flower I had so enjoyed. I stood there just staring at first; then I realized that there was still beauty yet to behold. I let the petals lay on the counter for several more days as a reminder to myself. Sometimes a girl needs those!

Pieces are still part of God’s masterpiece. Petals are pieces of the whole rose. 

Sometimes I feel a lot like those petals. Yes, it feels like I’m falling apart one petal at a time, until I’m completely in a heap on the countertop. 

It’s in those moments that I feel hopeless, afraid, insecure, angry, etc. It’s in those moments that I’m distracted by the many things wrong in my life and I lose sight of the main thing: 

God is Almighty and in control...and even in a heap on the counter, I am still beautiful and useful to Him. 

You see, the enemy would like me and you to think we’ve blown it completely when we become baffled by life and feel like we’ve had our proverbial brains beat out. He wants us to think it’s useless and we’ve gotten too far off the path for God to turn things around for us. 

 

If he can make us fall for that tactic, we’ll soon throw up our white flag in surrender - just what the enemy desires from us. However, if we realize that although we may be in pieces, God still holds us in His hand; we can make a beautiful, messy comeback. 

While it might be the beginning of the end for an actual flower, when we fall apart, it can be the end of a dreadful chapter - but with a new beginning right around the corner. God is all about restoration and trading beauty for ashes. 

God cares deeply for us and will go to the nth to recover and restore His own. 

We need not be afraid of falling apart when He can still do wonders with broken pieces. I’m reminded of the pottery technique, Kintsugi; where gold is used to fill in the cracks of broken pottery. It becomes even more beautiful and costly. 

How? You might ask. 

There’s something about having been in a state of brokenness which brings hope to others, especially after you’ve been restored. There’s a certain admirable beauty to our cracks when filled in with God’s rich grace and mercy that makes unbroken things seem quite dull. 

With God’s imprint upon our lives and broken places, we bring Him even more glory. 

It’s not about how broken we are. It’s not about how many of our petals are laying on the countertop. It’s about what we allow God to do with those pieces and petals to bring Him glory - and other’s hope! 

I hope this analogy will serve as a reminder to us all. We will all see “petals” falling in our lifetime. No matter what!We’re still part of God’s perfect masterpiece and if we’ll allow Him, He can still work wonders in our lives - if only we will surrender to His hands and not to the enemy camp. 

Our heap of petals can become a testimony to others who are falling apart at the seams; as well as a gold-veined trophy for the King of Kings. 

Be blessed and encouraged today~