Betty’s Blossom
Time has taken on a new meaning. Slowing down often allows an opportunity to admire God’s wondrous craftsmanship all around us. Just outside the kitchen window, Daylily seeds were planted in eyeshot of whoever sits at the table for breakfast. Year after year, no flowers blossomed. Overtime, Betty and her family had given up on these perennials ever appearing. The flowers were a gift from Betty Bukovi, who had a profound love for gardening even until the last few months of her life. After years of waiting for these flowers to blossom, they finally did this year, days after her peaceful passing. As the Porter family grieves, these flowers remind us that the spirit of those we love lives on. In truth, we all grieve and are forced into a never ending journey of remembering those who have gone before us.
One of the most mistaken expressions out there is “time will heal,” it doesn’t. Grief comes in waves and it often hits us when we least expect it. The most subtle smell, the faintest sound, the softest touch can be the tigger that allows the loneliness to creep in. Only the fortunate among us have the capacity to finally turn that mourning into joy. On this side of death, time can sometimes feel like a cruel punishment. This is especially true as our nation faces a devastating pandemic, civil unrest, and while we’ve lost our grasp on who we can trust. The fragility of life can often make time seem frivolous. For me it seems, the more unsettling life gets, the more difficult loss becomes. Perhaps I am recalling, more accurately longing for, simpler times with my loved one?
We operate on God’s timeline, and it’s often a timeline that we do not understand. Over the last few months, I’ve repeated to myself “Okay God, I can handle any one of these things, but does it have to be all at once?” Recently, I’ve felt tested and frustrated. I have felt like giving up on the seeds previously planted. At a time unbeknownst to me, God will blossom the flowers. My friends, when the multitude of vibrant peddles appear, our patience will be worth it. Soon, we will rest in the acreage of a flowery field. Its beauty is unimaginable. Until then, God provides us with glimpses of that which is to come. God eventually sprouts Daylilies in the garden. God provides us with windows that foreshadow heaven here on Earth.
Our task as Christians is to not just admire the flowers. Our mission is not only to never lose hope that blossoms will appear, but we are called to pull back the curtains to our kitchen window. God inspires us to share with the world the beauties of our garden. Evangelism is not about the saving of souls, it never was. Sharing God’s message of love and the majesty of creation is about inviting others to sit around our table together with us. The only thing better than the flowers themselves is when everyone, ALL people, have the garden within view. See, flowers can be the assurance that God is working in the world, which makes grief manageable. The more despair and injustice we see and experience in the world, the more joy Christ-followers need to bring through the Gospel.
Betty never quit working in her garden. She never gave up hope. Towards the end of her life, even when she knew that she wouldn’t be around to see the flowers blossom, she planted anyway. Sweet Betty understood that her life wasn’t all about her. It was always about others, her friends and family viewing her garden. Now, because of her steadiest faithfulness, the smallest gift of a flower will forever remind us of God’s love and the love that she shared.
With Hope,
Pr. Lucas McSurley
