The beauty of life is something I’ve been pondering and learning.
Every day, while taking my girls to school, I pass a beautiful courtyard garden. There are flowers of many kinds shouting bright pinks, yellow, and purples.
One set of rose bushes are particularly gorgeous. They stand tall and have this magnificent pinkish mauve color.
But recently, this tall, lovely bush has been brought low.
The winds of fall, the seasons changing, and the heavy rain have made an impact.
Because of the elements, this bush no longer stands tall. In fact, it lays low, pounded to the ground.
The delicate flowers lay on the ground where before they climbed high.
The pedals, although still beautiful, will continue falling off and the flowers will disappear as the bush prepares for winter and readies itself for the coming months of winter.
When I captured this picture on instagram, I wrote, “Even though fall is here and life is closing in for winter, there is still beauty… Beauty in the falling, beauty in the change, beauty in the death before the growth… Beauty in the faith that life will come again.”
The process will be beautiful because the dying seasons are a part of personal growth.
The growth process is God’s intended design.
Fall must come.
The falling and changing and dying circle around each year so that the seasons of beauty can come again.
The beauty is in the faith, in the hope, in the knowing that the beauty of life WILL come again.
The season will change.
The time will come when this precious bush will once again grow tall enough to support a bounty of gorgeous roses.
And this time it will be stronger, bigger, more full, more able, more capable than ever before to withstand the next storm of life.
That is beauty.
The process of growth and change and learning is beautiful.
It is life as God planned.
And He is making something beautiful. His end picture of us is much more magnificent than this rose bush.
We can trust Him, trust the process, trust the seasons.
We can bask in the knowledge that even in the changing seasons, He is doing something amazing.
He is at work when we can not see Him. He is planning and doing and moving when time seems to be slipping away and our life is experiencing great change.
He is the promise that the beauty of life remains in us, around us and through us.
Even when we can’t see it or feel it, even when we face a long season of fall and winter coming at us… even then.
The beauty and life remains and He is with us through it all.
“I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord. “I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come. Jeremiah 29:11
“You will pass through deep waters. But I will be with you. You will pass through the rivers. But their waters will not sweep over you. You will walk through fire. But you will not be burned. The flames will not harm you. I am the Lord your God. I am the Holy One of Israel. I am the one who saves you.” Isaiah 43:2-3
“I am always with you, to the very end.” Matthew 28:20
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