I Changed My Mind About Flowers

I’m sitting in a café in Merritt Island, Florida, while we wait to go see our boys at boot camp. They are prepping for their mission trip to Trinidad and are seven days into their 12-day boot camp. Then they’ll move onto Trinidad for about three weeks. It’s surreal to me that they will still be gone another four weeks. My heart hurts for them, but it’s balanced with my excitement for the growth and adventures they’ll experience on their trip. 

As I was sitting here, I was thinking about God’s intimate love for us as individuals, and it reminded me of a previous post I wrote about why I don’t like receiving flowers as a gift. My post was specifically about Valentine’s Day and why flowers aren’t a good gift idea. 

You see, I’ve always thought flowers were kind of a waste. They die within a few days and really aren’t used for anything other than aesthetics. Or so I thought. 

But, I have to admit, I’ve changed my mind. 

It kind of started with this dress:

I shared this photo on my Facebook page not too long ago with this description:

“This dress. It’s more than just a dress. As I’ve been going through my journey healing my heart, parts of my soul have awakened. Even though I’ve always been a “bubbly” person, my heart was kind of dull. My clothes often reflected that. I was pretty much always a jeans and t-shirt girl, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as my soul has awakened, I’ve wanted the outside of me to reflect what’s going on inside of me. Black was always my go-to color before. Now I am drawn to bright, cheerful colors. Not because I want to show myself off, but because I desperately desire God’s light to shine through me. I want the joy and freedom I’m feeling inside to burst forth through my appearance and make people say, “What the heck’s wrong with that girl??” It’s Jesus, folks, JESUS!”

Since shedding light on these crevices in my soul, even things as small as flowers have found significance for me. I no longer see them as “just decoration,” but as delicate, enchanting, beautiful expressions of God’s love for us. His attention to detail, his artistry, his magnificent use of color…they all blend together to impress me with more than just a pretty picture. Each petal speaks to me of his love and adoration for us. 

And so, I’ve changed my mind about flowers. Flowers are an intimate expression of God’s affection for us. He loves us so much, he created beauty purely for our indulgence. He wants us to take the time to smell them, to feel them, to soak them in. Take time to see them, friends.

“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” ~Martin Luther

What do you think? Do you enjoy flowers?