Roses Are Ugly...or Are They? (Joni)

Happy Valentine's Day!! How fitting to be talking about flowers. That was NOT planned. But I'm just going to go with it HA!

Abby works for a flower shop 2 days a week - they mostly sell roses. It's a sweet little shop and the people she works with are just as sweet. The roses are beautiful and range in color from white, to pink, to red with some even being a combination of those colors. I had the opportunity to help her for a few days leading up to Valentine's Day. It was so much to be with my daughter and experience what her work days are like. I helped clean the flowers. I honestly didn't even know that was a thing but it consists of pulling off the outer petals and examining the center of the rose to make sure it's a healthy rose and that it will open properly. Each rose is unique. From the the way the petals grow, to the exact shape of each petal, the damage received during shipping, how big or small the petals are, etc... Working with the flowers requires your attention and focus. Not so much that you can't carry on conversations or get lost in your own thoughts but some focus none the less. Historically I haven't been a huge fan of roses. But that has now changed. I got to see them from a different perspective.

Our family has been going through quite a bit for a while now. Recently our challenges have seemed bigger than normal...almost more than one can bear. It's so easy to lose perspective. To question God. To feel like hope is dwindling. I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that God loves each of us deeply and that each valley and mountaintop are there to remind us that HE is there. That HE is present. And that hope abounds. And God is so good to gently remind me that I am to remain rooted in that abundant hope (😉).

Back to the roses. My week at the rose shop could not have been better timing. I needed a break from the circumstances of life. God knew. As I was cleaning the roses comparisons began to flood my mind. Some of the roses looked rough on the outside. Each one had similarities to the other and yet a beauty of their own. It was easy to look at some of the roses and lose sight of the beauty that it held because of the damaged outside. The petals looked worn. Scrapes, rips, discoloration...imperfections. But as I pulled off the outer petals the beauty of the rose was easier to see and the color more vibrant. 


Sometimes it hurt to pull the petals off. My hand would get pricked or scraped by a thorn. But I knew the petals had to be peeled in order for the hidden beauty of the rose to be seen. Some roses took longer to clean than others. Some had petals that were more delicate while others were tough to pull off. In the end, the cleaning was worth it. The roses were beautiful!! So it is with us. God has to do some "cleaning" to each of us. We come to Him with hurts, scars, pain and sometimes just worn down. But He sees our beauty. He sees past the hurts, scars, pain and dulled beauty. Although He knows pain will be involved, He carefully and tenderly pulls back the petals to reveal the most vibrant beauty.

Maybe you are in a tough season too. God knows. He is carefully peeling back the layers. Although the process can seem long and might be painful, He doesn't lose sight of the goal...to reveal the most vibrant beauty that uniquely belongs to you. Hang in there!!

Growing in Hope,

Joni

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