Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these (Luke 12:27 ESV).
So much anger, frustration, and fear. It is hard not to allow ourselves to be overcome with stress, given the turmoil in our communities and the world today.
This may sound simplistic, but I believe God has given us a precious gift to help relieve stress in our lives—flowers. Flowers may not change your situation, but they take your gaze off your problems and point you back to where it belongs—to the Creator.
I have always enjoyed flowers, but it wasn’t until I was going through an especially trying time that I discovered how flowers are a precious gift from the Creator to minister to our souls.
I didn’t realize until the last flower shriveled, and the vase was put away how the lovely flowers surrounding my mother encouraged her and lifted her spirits during the most challenging season of her life.
When my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, we gave up our hopes of celebrating her 90th birthday. Her doctor told me she probably wouldn’t make it to Thanksgiving, let alone her birthday the following July.
But God had different plans. Ten and a half months after the diagnosis that had threatened to take her life in a few weeks, Mom made it to the 90-year milestone. Mom was in the later stages of cancer by then, so we kept the celebration simple – a special meal and cake with three daughters, a son, and a son-in-law. And lots of cards and flowers.
Her small apartment was filled with flowers she had received as gifts. Lavender roses, red carnations, blue hydrangeas, and pink Peruvian lilies set in vases on the table in front of the recliner where she spent her days. More flowers covered her kitchen counter.
The flowers lasted for weeks, but little by little, they began to wither and die. When I would come in to care for her during the day, I would weed out the dying ones and rearrange what was left. Finally, she was left with one bouquet, and eventually, with one flower which finally succumbed.
On the day the last flower died, she looked at me with innocent eyes and said, “Where are all my flowers?”
My mother would never have asked for anything for herself, but cancer had affected her short-term memory, and she had lost the usual filters we have as adults. This is when I realized how much the beauty of the flowers ministered to her.
Around that same time, I came home after a long day of caring for my mother and sat on my rocking chair on my front porch. I called my son and chatted as twilight faded to darkness. Around 9:15 pm, I went into the house.
Around 11 pm, I opened the door to put the dogs out before bed, and a vase filled with beautiful flowers was sitting next to the door. I looked around and couldn’t see anyone, and I couldn’t find a card or a note, so I brought them into the house.
In the light of my home, I could see this bouquet was not the grocery store variety. This was the expensive type of fine flowers you would buy at a florist shop. Their soft colors and sweet aroma ministered to my weary soul.
I was baffled. I hadn’t heard a sound. I hadn’t seen any car lights. But more surprisingly, my dogs did not bark. I have three small dogs—chihuahua mixes—who carefully guard my house and bark wildly if anyone gets near my property. I had thought it was impossible for anyone to sneak up on us. Yet, sometime between 9:15 and 11:00 pm that night, apparently, someone did just that.
The next day as I walked my dogs, I asked my neighbors if they had seen or heard anything. No one admitted they had. I posted a picture on Facebook with a thank you, and no one responded.
I never figured out who was behind the gift, but the intended purpose was accomplished. As I came home each day after caregiving, my spirit lifted as I gazed at my beautiful bouquet and breathed in the sweet aroma.
Since that time, I keep my eyes open for opportunities to bless others with flowers, passing forward the secret gift bestowed on me.
We are now in the season when flowers are blooming all around us. Take your focus off the worries around you, and take a moment to observe the delicate, fragrant blossoms, allowing God to minister to you through his lovely creation.
*Background image by Ekrem from Pixabay