"Upsetting the "normal" while creating the beautiful." Annette Kruschek |
The rose... It's beautiful. It's fragrant, It's loved by many. That's our Evelyn. I sit writing this blog from the familiar fourth floor of the ICU; Evelyn's second home. Today I found myself processing new information about Evelyn and was oddly comparing her to my Mom's rose bush in our backyard. Why on earth would the two things be put into the same category? Well, here goes... the picture above for starters. Our little rose, Evelyn... she's beautiful, she's loved by many and she adds life to anyone who comes close to her BUT she also comes with thorns. The thorns are a part of her beauty and some days they cause pain. My Mom's rose bush in my backyard right now looks like nothing but a dead large bush. There wasn't a single bud on it until last week which gave me HOPE that it would return for another season. To the naked eye my Mom's rose bush looks like it will never be that beautiful blossoming bush I vividly remember seeing last year. I remember timidly pruning back the rose bush this past fall in hopes it would grow even more. I remember trimming it down and thinking to myself, "why didn't I just leave it the way it was". Well, for all those green thumbs who are reading this know that in order for something to flourish and continue to grow you must prune it. Think of a beautiful field filled with wildflowers... it's burned in order to weed out the old in order to make way for the new.
Living with Evelyn is similar to my Mom's rose bush. She has blossomed. She continues to blossom and grow BUT through the growth comes thorns and pruning. Evelyn has been experiencing an increase in blood flow to her shunt which is resulting in an increase of heart failure... thorn. BUT she also is experiencing a decrease in pressures to her lungs... bud. She will need more heart medication to combat the heart failure... thorn. BUT this is proving that her VERY damaged lungs are improving.... bud. The list goes on... stress on family... thorn. A family to love her forever... bud. No promises as to the result of a future surgery... thorn. Options! A team of doctors who are fighting for her. HUGE BUD! I'm learning as I go to never get too comfortable with the day to day experiences with Evelyn. She is blazing her own trail. You could say she is demanding that we continue to prune her beautiful bush because she knows she has ability to create the biggest and most beautiful rose bush anyone has ever witnessed. While we go through the seasons of pruning I will never lose sight of this rose who is blossoming right in front of me. I will admit, her thorns really do hurt some days and take me by surprise when I get too close to them, but isn't that what life is all about? Getting close to something beautiful but risking hurt and pain. The current state of the world right now feels a bit like a rose bush being pruned; it looks ugly, beaten down and at times unsalvageable. BUT within all of the pruning I am seeing beauty. Voices being heard. Hearts being touched. Ears listening. Looting, vandalism, racism, death... all the thorns are hurtful but I do believe there is some serious pruning happening in the world and because of that our country will blossom greater than it was before. It really is all about HOPE. I don't live my life with my eyes fixed on what I can only see. So much of my HOPE comes from what I can't see. It's God's way of working good out of the bad. What do you need to prune in your life right now in order to allow it to grow? Don't stifle something from growing. Growth hurts some days but take a look at the picture above and I think you will agree that growth also brings BEAUTY and renewed HOPE. The next time you see a rose remember what it took in order for that beauty to grow... pruning and patience. Allow God to prune you today. Let him into your life to cut out the dead and ugly. He has beauty in store for you if you are patient enough to allow it.
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AuthorI am a proud Mother to eight children and a wife to my very best friend. I work hard, play hard and love until it hurts. Archives
January 2023
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