Bedraggled to Beautiful

The Easter lilies that never bloom until mid-May have had a rough year. I fell flat onto the stalk and loosened the roots in one easy trip. Day after day, we would try propping up the plant. Every morning, we would find it leaning precariously toward its doom.

I decided to either put it out of its misery or try to salvage what I could and pray it would complete the process of opening its beautiful petals and share its fragrance in my kitchen.

I snipped the stalk and shoved the end that still had a little root system back deeper into the ground. I trimmed the flower-bearing stalk, pulled off some bottom leaves, and stuck it in a vase with water. Because I’ve noticed day lilies around here seem to do best in the bright light of open fields, I set the vase on the floor in the brightest section of the living room. I moved it faithfully for several days to catch the perfect sunshine. (Yep, folks! Such is the life of an old lady with not much to do!)

After several days of sunbathing and fresh water, the flowers rewarded me by opening. Despite being damaged and scarred, each one survived and is still thriving after several days on the kitchen counter. And yes, they are beautiful and fragrant.

Therein lies a lesson, of course.

So many times in life, we feel we have been damaged beyond repair through no fault of our own. Or maybe there has been responsibility for our troubles we can assign to our own actions or attitudes. But whatever. God takes the hurt and brokenness of our lives and turns things around as we trust in Him.

Oh, He may not take us out of the situation, but He will always see us through. By staying in the light of God’s Presence, we can get the strength we need to carry on. By feeding on the nourishing water of His Word and Spirit, we can be refreshed. Here are some verses to lift your spirits and draw your thoughts to God.

Psalm 34:18, ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those crushed in spirit.’ I love that one!

Hebrews 12:2-3 talks of fixing our eyes on Jesus so that we do not lose heart.

1Peter 5:7 NLT. ‘Give all your worries and cares to God, because He cares for you.’ If we could only grasp how much God loves each one of us!

Psalm 73:26 NLT. ‘My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart. He is mine forever.’

May you feel God’s beauty in your brokenness. May you realize His beauty can be in you and shine from you to bless others!

Be blessed

Kara Beth