Bright and Beautiful Promises
By Ken and Jan Merop
Avery County
The sun was shining at last. Though the air held a bit of that frosty touch, the sun’s brightness invited a stroll outdoors.
The rock garden located below our patio is planted with bulbs. As I walked up to the edge of the patio and looked down, beautiful purple and white crocuses that had pushed up through the mulch greeted me. They were like bright smiles in a dreary yard awaiting new life to pulse through the tree limbs, bushes, and other plants.
Bravely they had stuck their little heads above the ground where I could enjoy them and smile back!
The saying, “The earth laughs in flowers” is attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. I agree with him.
I cannot go by a garden, come across flowers blooming in unexpected places or enjoy those in a pitcher or vase on my table without smiling.
I am tickled by them. And laughter always accompanies tickling.
Like with so many things in our daily lives, flowers can become commonplace to us. But instead, they should awaken awe, beauty, and invigorating hope into our souls.
Not just because they are there for our enjoyment, but because the Creator has given us this beauty through His amazing creative hand. They are reminders of his beautiful promises that feed our souls as well.
It is important for us to look beyond the creation and see the Creator’s hand. To see His love for His creation. To know that all He has done and continues to do in sustaining us and this planet we live on is so that we can know Him in a personal way.
In Colossians 1: 15, NLT, we read these words.
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.”
Then further along in verse 17, it says, “…and he holds all creation together.”
Unfortunately, because of sin’s curse, decay accompanies every living thing. But let these hearty flowers remind you of God’s promises as seen in 2 Peter 1: 3 – 4.
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises…that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption…”
Bright and beautiful promises for this world and the next. Selah
Promise of Spring
Decaying mulch hardly seems the bed for beauty.
Nevertheless, it emerges from beneath the ground
Purple and white crocuses breaking through winter’s harshness.
A cross, crown of thorns and a borrowed tomb
hardly seem the likely place to find promise.
Till Jesus burst forth from the tomb…just as He said.
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here,
But is risen!”
Luke 24: 5 and 6
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Ken and Jan love residing in the mountains of Avery County. Visit Jan’s new blog @pauseandconsider.net, Journeying with Jan. Ken’s photos can be seen at kenmeropphotography.com.
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