Fragrance, fading and drooping; it’s part of life.  If we focus too much on the wrong thing, our outside appearance of withering will override what’s most important…our heart.

Flowers enhance a room’s mood.  When flowers are at their best, the bright light is welcome, and they add cheerfulness to the setting.  Flowers add a coziness and warmth to any room.  When I was looking at them in the store, I was looking for the best bouquet; the one with the least amount of imperfections.  The details were amazing, and their color vibrant.  Once home, I moved them from table to table to see where they looked best.  Sitting on a table not only adds a neat touch to a room, so can their fragrance.  Depending on the light in the room, the flowers look different.  And some varies will last much longer than others.

The brighter the light, the more pronounced their color, so I put them on the kitchen table, which allowed for more outdoor light to come streaming through the blinds. The brighter the light, the more details you can see.  And the details are amazing. You can see God’s handy work down to the last petal.  After a week or so, the bright light shining on the flowers isn’t as welcome, as the flowers start to droop.  The details in the flower start to change color; they fade, they lose their spunk; their fragrance fades.  They simply don’t look like they once did.

Bright light or dim, when we think we’re at our best, the flaws are there.  Our days of our youth may show younger skin, but we never were perfect; some type of flaw was always there.  As we age, we’re not surprised to see another freckle, a new mole, a more defined wrinkle; or a scar that continues to darken.  Our hair starts to turn gray, and gravity is working overtime.  I don’t like change.  I see change every morning I look in the mirror.  Young or old, God sees our imperfections and flaws. We may prefer the dim light to help camouflage our withering, but there’s no getting away from change.  Sure, some lotions may help us fight our natural decline; plus there’s sun blocks we can use; and there are those people who seem to have the better skin types to begin with, but there’s no way we’ll escape the inevitable change that’s coming.

We read that God wants us to be a good steward of what He has given us; even in taking care of ourselves.  And that’s good, we should.  God knows our days; some of us will last longer (live longer) than others, but no matter how much better our petals may appear, they won’t last.  The key is if we’re more consumed about what others think; what we think; if we’re trying to impress others, or please God.  Are we more concerned with the exterior than the interior.  Proverbs 31:30 says charm and beauty is fleeting, but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Whether in the ground or sitting in a vase, flowers start drooping, they lose their leaves, and eventually die.  So do we.

God’s always looking at the heart, regardless the situation.  And man’s typically looking at the exterior.   1 Samuel 16:7 says:  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Indeed, Isaiah 40:8 comes to mind.  We whither, we fade, we sag, we have our time; but one thing we know for sure is that God’s Word endures.  Nothing about It changes.  The grass withers and blooms whither, but God’s Word endures.

The good news is that one day we won’t be worried about, or consumed with, physical impairments.  There won’t be any more fading, withering, no tears, mourning, crying; no dying  (Revelation 21:3-4).  Until then, enjoy life, fear the Lord above all else, and do enjoy His pretty creation, including flowers on your table.

Earnestly,

Yours