Life Lessons From Hydrangeas

Hi, friends. Today’s post is light-hearted and includes some lovely photos. Nature always inspires me, and though I have an understandable bias towards lilies, it’s hard for me to say one flower is more stunning than another–they all embody effortless beauty.

Life Is Composed of Seasons

These gorgeous, multi-colored hydrangeas appeared around the beginning of June. Pictures hardly do them justice; I was enthralled. The variations of blue, purple, and pink are merely accidents of nature. However, a few weeks later…

Me: (horrified) What happened?!

Dad: (nonchalantly) Oh, they couldn’t take the heat.

Me: So they’re dead?!

Dad: Nah, they’ll be back.

The cycle of nature is composed of seasons–seasons for life, seasons for death, seasons for extreme heat or cold, seasons for fair weather, seasons for vibrancy, seasons for darkness.

We tend to forget that our lives are also seasonal. We find it silly that dogs think people are leaving forever every time they walk out the door, but don’t we dwell in our misery the same way, imaging it will never end?

We are like these hydrangeas–in bloom, we are rare and amazing. But we lose our radiance sometimes when we can’t take the heat or when the sun disappears for a while. Remember that you won’t be in this season forever; life, like the weather, always changes.

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

   a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
   a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
   a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
   a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
   a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
  a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
  a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NIV)

You Are the Light

A lone, blue hydrangea rests on the rock in the center of the photo. No blooming flowers surround it. Now imagine that you are the hydrangea and God is your rock.

Your genuine smile could uplift someone’s mood. Your joy could inspire cynical people around you. Your kindness could give someone a taste of life in the Holy Spirit.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV)

Thanks for reading! Do you have any flowers blooming at your house? Do you have a favorite flower in general?

I’m posting a day early to request your prayers. Due to my disability, Friedreich’s Ataxia, my heart muscle is thick. Today, I’m having a cardiac MRI so my cardiologist can examine the condition of my heart more in depth. Using a wheelchair is tough, but I’ll gladly do so for many years if the alternative is death. Pray that my heart won’t get thicker, that I’ll live a long time, and that we cure FA soon. (We are working endlessly towards a cure; read more or donate at curefa.org) Thanks and God bless you.

 

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