In the Garden : Seasons of life depicted by the Rose

The garden. Where life began and where Jesus prayed before He went to the cross for us.

If only more people spent time in the garden. If only they spent time in the dirt, in the hardship of growing food and in the beauty of the flowers blooms. There are thorns but there are roses too.

The droplets of water on their petals captivate my soul in worship of God of heaven and earth, who designed such glory in such small things.

A droplet of water on a petal. A mere drop of water so magnificent. The water’s dome a structure of excellence, the view through it a magnification of the veins in the soft curving bloom. The color indescribable, framed by a symphony of leaves. The intelligence behind every facet of this layered experience bursting with reason and the beauty inherent in the design. The color and scent draws the bees, the bees make the honey, the bees pollinate the food bearing plants and trees. The practical needs of people to be fed is spurred on by the beauty necessary to keep it going.

And even for a rose being nothing to eat, we offer a rose for so many reasons that speaks to something other than food for the body. It is romance, consolation, scent, absolute enjoyment.

The bud cannot receive the bee and the full blossom scatters petals below unlike the younger blooms. Each one unique in beauty and purpose in its stage of life. The buds are not less lovely because they are not unfurled. They are not rushed or criticized because they are small or grow slowly. They are allowed to be right where they are in all the glory of that moment. The fleeting moments that add up to become its fleeting life.

I saw myself in the bud. I saw myself in the fresh bloom. I saw myself scattering my petals below. And I felt relieved to see that it is ok to be where I am in the timeline of the life God has given me. I saw that even the color of the rose changed with time. The pink became more intense and coral in it’s early bloom and then later a more true pink but a bit faded in vibrancy but no less beautiful in color.