Flowers

Death Valley '10

Psalms 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.

We came across this little beauty quite literally in the middle of nowhere. We stopped the car somewhere along the way to Death Valley and found her along the side of the road amongst rocks and sand. We were stunned that it could have grown in such conditions, and at the uniqueness of its beauty. How could something so delicate live in such terrain? And further still, why would it bother--here, of all places? Our lives on this earth are compared to flowers and grass in the aforementioned verses of scripture, but all in all it is hardly a pleasant thought. Why such a comparison? Simply to show the frailty of humanity? Perhaps not.

Lend me your imagination, and I will tell you why.

Our lives, fleeting and inconsequential as they sometimes seem, are beautiful little masterpieces. Each delicately displaying a unique character, cultivated from often harsh or less than desirable conditions, that is at once a proud show of accomplishment and a humble display of perseverance. The flower draws what nourishment it can from the soil and becomes something beautiful. It can't choose where it is planted, where it's seed falls. It can't beg the skies to shower rain, and it can't beseech the sun to deal kindly with it. It can hardly fend off the critters it shares its world with, and the span of its existence depend largely on its surroundings. And for all that it accomplishes, and everything it endures and overcomes, it still withers and dies...

It could not be saved for and because of its beauty. When the time calls for it, when the flower cannot live anymore off of the ground, it returns to the ground. But with it, it delivers something valuable. The wind blows and it carries the seed of the next lovely flower that will sprout and bloom when and where conditions are favorable enough for it to survive. We hear all the time that we should 'make the most of it', 'appreciate and live life to the fullest' but for all that we do, we cannot escape mortality. We put so much importance on what we do in our present lives, when we ought to put more thought into what we're going to do afterward. We have the opportunity to create something wonderful right here and now in this world, and the chance to live again in Christ Jesus.

What is our life worth in the grand scheme again? Whatever we make it worth. What is the point of trying if we cannot avoid death? The point is to prepare for the next life, in Christ Jesus.

Photo by: Arina Borodina