A Hopeless Hopeful
by Peggy J.
I love flowers. I have pots of them all over the yard. Hanging pots, flowerboxes, pots on pedestals, pots sitting on the patio. Pots, pots, pots! They require watering just about every day, as flower roots dry out faster in pots than they do when they’re planted in the ground.
Sometimes when I am very tired at the end of the day and I don’t feel like watering them, I’ll still do it, even if it’s in the dark of late night. I would just feel horrible if I let any of them go. They are so beautiful, each one a masterpiece, each one bringing something to my little part of the planet. The hummingbirds love the lantana and the petunias. The tuberoses are so fragrant. In early summer, the lilies burst forth on the scene, making me feel as though I have captured fireworks in my hand!
It hit me the other evening, Why do I care for them so? They will all be gone after the season. Why take up so much of my time for them, such a tentative endeavor?
The grass withers and the flowers fall, so says Isaiah. I had a little peek into how God must look at us. We are all so fragile, so much here-today-and-gone-tomorrow. Yet He keeps watering us (even in the darkest of nights), pruning us, shining on us, feeding us. All so we can display His glory in our season.
It’s September. I am already sensing loss, as the earth is no longer at pinnacle green. The petunias are spindling down and the coneflowers are dark and prickly. The hummingbirds are programmed to be leaving us soon. It’ll take me a few weeks to grieve my losses. I will be driven indoors, as with most all else.
But, ah, somewhere deep inside this sad little house lives the hope of Spring! How I love to think about the tulips pushing forth again and the lilacs beginning to bud!
Thank You Jesus, for making me a hopeless hopeful!
