New Roses & Broken Garage Doors
Did you know that in just one day you can experience these two things? New roses and broken garage doors! Yes, it’s true…This quarantine quandary came to me during my day off, while spending some time in the backyard. I always look forward to giving attention to my little rose garden, pruning & fertilizing the roses. God usually speaks to my heart during these green-thumb activities.
Before the quandary, I started the morning with a work-out in our garage, which is right beside the garden. Then finishing my exercise stretches, there was a sudden and strange crashing sound! Looking up, I saw one of the doors of the garage, flopped outside and barely hanging by the hinges. The desperate sound of this old garage door tearing off the frame was like a final gasp goodbye to its long life. Now I’m in a predicament… should I allow this troubling event to ruin my plans for rose gardening?
Determined to enjoy the beautiful Spring morning, I ran into the garden and put on my pruning gloves. Leave that old broken garage door behind me, for at least an hour, I thought. It didn’t take long before my heart was happy with the fresh fragrance of pristine white roses, and removing deadheads of old blooms. While pruning leaves and fertilizing the roses God shared something like this with me: “I make all things new! You see the dead rose blooms, just like the old garage door rotted by termites, have to be replaced…the old dead things have to fall down, or be cut off…And with that death and removal there must be constant regrowth and new replacements in order for life to be productive and full of purpose. This process of dying, then new life cycling is all part of the eternal plan for My creation.
The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:9-10: ” …since you have put off the old self with his deeds, and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself. ” So in this time of Quarantine, let’s take advantage of the unique quandaries God gives us. Right in the middle of these perplexities and times of uncertainty, Jesus wants to reveal something new to His people. The Holy Spirit will help us to experience healthy and vibrant growth, even as we let go of some old, dead things. Get ready for some fresh faith-stretching adventures with the Lord!
