Sometimes the obvious gets our attention like a bucket of cold water in the face, right? We forget the simplest lessons of truth by getting caught up in what we see, feel, hear, and think. When we shake off our sensory-induced stupor, we admit what we realized all along, but didn’t trust or believe 100%.
For the past couple of weeks, the rosebush in my yard (whose lovely blooms have been featured in my blog all Summer long and provided me with a beautiful diversion during quarantine) once again looked dried-up, lifeless, and down for the count. I had stopped even looking in that direction when outside, and had resigned myself to accept that they were gone for the season…but I should’ve known better than to assume this temperamental, scrappy rosebush was done putting out flowers just because the only color I saw was brown vine.
From my August 2019 Can These Bones Yet Live Again? post, I should have recalled:
“May we receive our Heavenly Father’s gentle and poignant reminder that some things that appear to be dead are only dormant…and dormancy lasts for only a season before life re-emerges.”
From my 2011 post on time management (worth revisiting), I should have remembered:
“…some seeds remain dormant for a whole year before becoming productive.”
Yes, I forgot about the power of the comeback…until this week – in my haste to grab at least a moment of fresh air between back-to-back conference calls – when I saw 3 tiny buds had emerged from that shriveled up, dead-looking stalk…I was amazed!
I wanted to take a picture, but my phone refused to hold any more data, even after I reluctantly deleted app after app. My wonderful hubby swooped to the rescue (again) to order me an upgraded phone before it crashed (like it did in 2018) as he’d been attempting to prevent for months (again). With my new, fully functional device in hand today, I was able to snap evidence of those 3 roses past full bloom, along with some new buds springing forth.
Instead of being doomsdayish after learning that tonight’s overnight temps may produce frost, I decided to enjoy the floral beauty in this moment. Whatever happens to the roses tomorrow cannot be my focus; right now, they are a gift for me to enjoy, so I’m taking it in!
The moral of this story: No matter what your situation looks like, trust that God is able to breathe new life and restoration into it – all for His glory, and in His time. Stay encouraged…hope springs eternal!
“39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”
(Mark 5:39-42)
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Kayren Cathcart's Blog 