Fallen flowers

My wife loves to garden. I do not. To me, it seems like an awful lot of hot and hard work with very little return on investment. But Pat genuinely loves it. Gardening is an annual delight of hers. She loves to till the ground, plant the seeds, pull weeds, and watch her plants and flowers grow. Me … I enjoy the “fruits of her labors.” I do love me some homegrown fruits and veggies. 

Having said that, I am not the only person who benefits from her tireless efforts. Chances are, if you know my wife, you have received a little plastic bottle bouquet of flowers from her. You see, several years ago, Pat planted a few zinnias along the edge of her garden. Like most small backyard plots, she planted tomatoes and squash and peppers and some cucumbers and melons, along with a few other fruits and veggies. But in short order, the zinnias began to take over the garden. Seriously … like, take over. The last couple of years, as soon as some of the zinnia plants begin to grow, she has to pull them or else they will choke out the other produce she has planted. 

But be sure, Pat still has tons of zinnia blooms, and one of her joys is to cut fresh flowers and put them in a make-shift plastic bottle vase and deliver them to various friends and family. As I said, if we have ever visited you in the hospital, or stopped by your home in the summertime, you probably received a small spray of her zinnias. Heaven only knows how many nursing home rooms have been decorated by her backyard arrangements. 

I am no floral expert, but I doubt there are many people who would insist zinnias are the most beautiful of all flowers. But I would argue, they are perhaps the most intricate and unique. I don’t know why, but it wasn’t really until this year that I took the time to look more closely at their blooms. It is interesting how very different the individual flowers are from one another, even growing from the same plant. God certainly has a way of creating elaborate loveliness in something so simple. 

But I said all that to say this: somehow, a zinnia plant began to grow right in the middle of our backyard. Whether a bird dropped a seed, or perhaps some seeds fell when Pat was carrying away the dead stems in the fall, we don’t know. But a single zinnia plant began growing and my tender-hearted wife refused to mow it down … instead she let it grow. And I am so glad she did. Because that lone zinnia taught me a valuable life lesson. 

About midsummer, the blooms became so numerous and heavy, the stalk couldn’t support the weight, and the flower fell over. We assumed it would dry-out and wither, but then, the most wonderful thing happened. The blooms all begin to turn and grow upward toward the sun! Even though the weight of the blossoms were too much for the stem, the flower kept on blooming! Evidently, the stem, though half-broken and laying on the ground, has kept supplying water and nutrients to the shoots and blooms. We watched this little life lesson unfold and would you believe, that even now – this same zinnia plant is still producing gorgeous flowers?! To the glory of it’s Divine Creator! 

I said that I learned a spiritual lesson from this random out-of-garden experience, and I did. And here it is … sometimes the weight of this world and the problems we face can knock us down, that is just a reality of life. The question that remains however is this; are we going to wither and fade, or are we going to keep on blooming for the glory of God? 

Last week, my wife and visited a longtime Perry resident, named Cindy Collier. Maybe some of you have the pleasure of knowing this wonderful and godly lady? Not too long ago, Cindy was diagnosed with terminal cancer. For the last several months she has fought like a champion and soaked up as much life as one person possibly can! Yet sadly, her illness has taken a toll on her body. But let me tell you this; even though she has been pressed down, Ms Cindy has turned her face upward toward the SON, and kept on blooming through it all! Although sickness has weighed her down, she is still blooming and blossoming and radiating beauty … all for the glory of her Divine Creator! As we sat in her living room with her family by her side, I told her the silly story about our zinnia plant and how it made us think of her. In fact, the little bouquet of zinnias my wife brought to Cindy that day … was cut from that fallen flower in our backyard. How very fitting indeed! 

I don’t suppose any of us know for sure what we will do until our time comes and we are faced with a heavy burden to bear. But I pray, despite all opposition, rather than withering, every single Christian will continue to bloom and blossom for the glory of our Great God. He is worthy! 

In case you are reading this and wondering how someone can continue to shine so brightly even in the face of tremendous adversity … the answer is the Gospel … the soul-saving, life-changing power of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Cindy Collier would tell you that. Erika Kirk just told millions of people that. Countless martyrs died proclaiming that. And many others can testify to this truth; Jesus is worthy to be praised even when life presses us down. 

Friends … even fallen flowers can still bloom and bless others. That is a lesson I am glad to learned.