Hope for today...

I was out early this morning, working a bit in the garden before the heat of the day set in. I love the quiet of the morning...the neighborhood still silent before the hum of daily activities begin. It is in these moments where God speaks gently to my soul; whispering His promises, encouragement and hopes. This morning, as I milled through our planters pulling weeds and thinning out dead material from the bushes, I imagined God doing the same things in my heart...pruning back the unnecessary--the harmful even, in order that I might thrive. I love that idea...that I am God's garden; being pruned, fed and tended to in order that I might bear His beauty. It might not always feel great... to a rose bush pruning would be painful, I imagine. But how necessary it is for it's long term beauty and growth! And how true that is for me!

As I rounded the bend in our yard, close to those precious roses of mine, something else was spoken to my heart. Hope. You see, of those six rose bushes that I planted some three months ago, there was one that never leafed out or grew. It never even had a single bud on it. And it happened to be Ellie's rose bush...the one I planted to represent her place in our family. A beautiful lavender, fragrant rose. I was sad to see it not thrive, and I secretly hoped that its lack of growth did not symbolize something greater (I am not superstitious in any way, so I'm not really sure why I even entertained that thought) but I never tore it out of its spot there beside the others, despite Ty urging me to do so. It was obviously not going to grow, after all. But I let it remain there, with some crazy hope that maybe...just maybe it would begin to grow (even though deep in my heart I doubted that it ever would).

So there it sat, amidst its thriving neighbors; a barren lump of sticks. But this morning, I noticed something amazing as I crouched down close to it. BUDS!!! Leaf buds!!! My little, barren Ellie rose lives!!!! After three months of nothing, my little stick-bush is GROWING!!! :)



As I mentioned in my last post, I have not been overly concerned about Ellie's tests today, or even the possibility of problems. My mommy heart just does not want to see her in discomfort. But finding her rosebush thriving this morning--the very morning of her tests---was complete confirmation to me that all will be well...that I can (and do) have peace even in uncertain times. There is so much going on around me (and us!); not only close to home with friends and family facing some major adversities, but also in our nation and the world around us. But God was, is and will always be faithful to tenderly care for me and provide all that I need to thrive. For this, I am utterly grateful! And now, I can have hope for today!

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through this, he has given us his great and precious promises..." 2Peter 1:3-4