A few days ago I went outside and took care of my favorite rose bush. It was full of yellow roses. It was given to me after my daughter Kari passed away. I find myself taking gentle care of it. I took a picture of it, full of roses, hope, and beauty.
Then the other night a storm came through, and when I went outside to check on my rose bush, I found the petals lying all around and the beautiful blooms in piles where the wind had swept them. My eyes filled with tears as I sat and stared at my rose bush. My life felt much like that bush. Maybe you can relate.
I’m a single mom just like you, and there are still days when I find myself wondering how and why the petals of my life feel so scattered. It’s easy to get lost in the bewilderment. Yet something happened. As I was standing there looking at those broken petals with tears of sadness creeping deep within, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to lean in closer. So I did.
I bent down and got on my knees in that soaked soil, and I picked up the broken petals and held them in my hand and asked God what he wanted to show me because all I could see was brokenness. He gently whispered again. Lean in closer. So once again, I did. I bent lower and looked into my beautiful rose bush, yet this time I saw something different. I noticed the buds that hadn’t bloomed. I noticed they were covered in the rain and that the storm was giving them the strength to break free, open up their petals, reach for the sun, and embrace becoming a beautiful full-blown rose. The tears flowed again, but this time not because of my pain but because of my thankfulness to God.
Sometimes we get so focused on our broken petals that we don’t see the new buds of hope God is growing within us. Those petals are visible blessings from him, promising he will never leave us or break a promise. If we will kneel before him, stand firm in his Word, and believe that new life, new hope, new beauty, and new friendships are coming, we will be delivered. But if all we do is stand and stare at the broken petals, we will miss the ever-present hope of the bloom that’s coming.
Something I once read seemed to fit my new lesson perfectly: Those who kneel walk away healed… and healed I was!
Are your brave enough to look past the brokenness and expect God to do something new? Are you ready to press into the beauty of his Word? Today, my single momma friends, let’s kneel and stand firm on the hope of his promises. Let’s be brave enough to look past the broken petals and gaze into the beauty of what is to come. We don’t have to do it alone. We can do it together.
