Gerbera Daisy

Year 7-Day 128: Today, I am grateful for the Gerbera Daisy.  

This is the flower that I have to buy every year. My Sister-in-Law, Jennifer, loves them. In fact, their anniversary is at the end of the month and my brother has learned that a bouquet of Gerbera Daisies is better than roses. 

Every daisy makes me smile, but the Gebera's are the show stoppers. This year, I has learned that if I prune the dead blooms by snipping down to the bottom of the stalk, I will have more color all summer. I can't wait to try out that tip. 

Pruning is the answer to more blooms. Pruning always makes me feel sorry for the plants. I worry that it hurts them, but the truth is that any discomfort they experience leads to bigger, better, fuller blooms or fruit. 

This truth, found in the garden, reflects our Mighty God's face. His ways mean that at times, we experience some pain and discomfort, but that is where we grow the ability to produce more fruit. 

 Those who have known love... have tasted loss. Those who know loss... show greater comfort and compassion. Those who have known suffering... feel other's pain with greater empathy. Our seasons of pruning help us serve our Lord better. We learn to manage the hard things because we trust the hand of the Master Gardener. 

"God is good, all the time; all the time, God is good."

This is a popular phrase in Christian circles, but even there some ... frankly... don't get it. How can we say that when bad, hard and difficult things come to believers? 

The ones who love him face loss and suffering, too. As long as evil is still a living presence in this world... and it is... there will be suffering and trials. In brokenness, the ones who seek His face with their whole hearts will find him. In that messy, painful place, healing begins at the very spot it feels so broken and dead. 

Our God meets us there. In the brokenness and the hurt. He is able to do... by His might and His power... what the world cannot do. 

He changes and satisfies our thirsts. He glues us back together. He marvels at the beauty in our scars the same way we marvel at the scars in his hands and feet that a constant reminder of His love for us. He gives us beauty for ashes.

"and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." -Isaiah 61:3 

This year, I will bravely prune my Gerbera Daisy and trust the Master Gardener. He whispers, "You can do all things... even hard things... because I am with you always." 

Today, I am grateful for the Gerbera Daisy.