Fall has come and this is all that's left of my flower garden that I planted this summer. No matter how lovingly I tended the garden; no matter how faithfully I watered and fed the plants, there is no stopping the seasons or the cycle of life. The flowers grew and bloomed, providing beauty and color for us to enjoy. Yet I knew that at the end of the season they would wither and die. Even knowing that I can't help but be a little bit sad to see what just a short while ago brought a smile to my face now look so ugly.
Then one day I looked over at our tree and discovered this:
What caught my eye was the flash of color that didn't belong there.
We may think we know the seasons, the cycles, or what comes next. But every once in a while something comes along that surprises us and reminds us that God is in control, and when he is in charge life will find a way. You see, we didn't plant this flower. No one did and it shouldn't even be there, much less blooming. But the Creator has decided that at this particular time and in this particular place this flower should flourish and that is exactly what it is doing.
I like to imagine that He sent it to us because in His wisdom He kew we needed it in this moment. Not when it is the growing season, or when the other flowers are in bloom, but just when we thought that the seasons had changed and winter was once again upon us.
He sent it to us during a season of our life when things have seemed bleak, when we have been going through our own time of "winter and darkness" and are just now starting to see the light of dawn again. This flower reminds us that it is not in our time but His time; we don't get to decide when we are done, or when we should quit.
It is exactly when we think there is nothing good left, or when we can't see anything but the ugliness around us and in our lives that we should look to God. If we open our eyes and look hard enough He will delight in surprising us.
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