The Defiant Beauty of Flowers

One spring morning, I placed a mason jar with daffodils and chamomile blossoms on the dining room table. In a pandemic-weary, war-torn world, flowers still bloomed. This struck me as absolutely miraculous. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, stood these indomitable, delicate beacons of beauty.

Flowers bloom throughout the earth. From the tiniest flowers clinging to a ledge high on a mountainside to the lush blooms blowing in the breeze along a tropical beach, they will grow just about anywhere! They can be found breaking through the cracks of an inner city sidewalk, climbing over the fence of a refugee camp, or keeping watch in the abandoned garden of a bombed out house. They stand in hopeful opposition to the struggle and strife we face in our world today. This is the wonder of them, their hidden strength.

Flowers have the power to transform us. Catching sight of a flower and really taking a moment to see it, considering its color and intricate design, has the power to lift our spirits and renew our souls. Flowers turn our gaze away from hardship to behold beauty. They speak of love and peace, and of an eternal kingdom.

Flowers hold out the hope of heaven our hearts long for. Too often overlooked as frivolous or sentimental, flowers actually are profound and defiant symbols of joy and delight. They are light shining in the darkness, beauty made alive, reminding us that God and His Creation rise victorious over death and decay.

Dear One, I pray that your world will always be filled with flowers, and you will have eyes to behold the power of their beauty.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning