“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Yesterday, while cramming 1001 errands into as few trips as possible during this crazy Christmas season, I was stopped by the sweet older gentleman who runs the produce department at my grocery store. Thank God I didn’t bowl him over in the isle as I was racing back to get tortilla shells while the grocery clerk was busy ringing up my order. (yes I’m THAT person—although relax, there was no one in line behind me.)
This produce man offered me a dozen roses. I politely declined, more than a little confused. He persisted, ‘please, have some roses for free.’ He was always so kind while I was shopping, but I had no idea where this gesture was coming from.
Then I noticed the roses were a little damaged looking. Their petals were showing signs of brown and when seeking to make a declaration of love to your wife or girlfriend, these roses weren’t going to make the cut.
So, although they were not good enough to sell, the produce man saw their inherent beauty and figured someone else would too. It was very touching that he had desired to share what others might not see the value in. Many would have just thrown them out, but he recognized the waste in that when there was beauty to share. Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it can’t be perfectly beautiful.
I wanted to pay the roses forward and offer this gesture to someone else. A very pregnant woman came into my line but she politely declined as I had. I persisted. She declined again and said she was going to the hospital the next day to have her baby and she didn’t want their beauty to go to waste.
So I decided to keep the roses because I could see a story unfolding in them. While speaking with my friend Nikki last night the events of the day came up. She encouraged me to write this devotion because it was speaking to her heart.
Through the record of these devotions, it is my hearts desire that my boys have this record of their discipling journey. And, if in the process other moms are encouraged to pursue God by our very flawed journey, then that is an added bonus. (although I should be working on Nikki’s album design right now! Still wanting more hours in every day!)
The beauty of the roses was readily apparent. I guess we have a choice, get stuck on the flaws and try to hide them or accept that life is flawed and focus on the beauty. We are created to be beautiful and we all end up marred by this life. Yet, Father God looks down from heaven at us, His precious kids, and He still looks crazy in love with us because we are His kids, period.
Our inherent value is in who we belong to, not what happens to us. We may not always see our value. Sometimes we focus on the things in our life that the world would say reduces our value. Our fears, our sins, our insecurities and we say, ‘I don’t measure up.’ We live in defeat and the lie that says that stuff decides our value.
Meanwhile, the Lord desires to draw closer to Him where we will find our true worth. In Him our heart rejoices and finds rest. The key seems to be silencing those other voices that shout our worth is found in our appearance, our gifts, our mistakes… His voice is often a whisper, but no sweeter whisper when sought above the chaos of life.
I noticed all the roses on the perimeter of the dozen were the most tattered. They weathered the bulk of the beating this dozen had taken. However, right in the center, that rose was unscathed. It was perfect. Immediately, the Scripture, Proverbs 4:23 popped into my mind, “Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it."
Lord we pray you would teach us to guard our hearts and how to guard our children’s hearts from the things that would crush their spirits. This is no easy task. Our hearts were made to long for You and remind us of that when we would try and fill that God shaped hole in our heart with empty things life offers.
Teach us to know You in our busted down, bruised up life. Teach us what it means to have our hearts guarded in Christ Jesus as we seek to know You more through this life.
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“Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7
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