White Rose

On Saturday I went with a couple of friends to Coral Coast Christian Church for their 10th Annual Mothers Day Dinner. It was awesome, especially due to their guest presenter and our table companion, Aliki Flodine. I so appreciate people who can share truths about God in real and relevant ways and make people want to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus. Its what I want to do by sharing stories from everyday life (though my 'everyday' seems to come more under the category of random and crazy), and its what Aliki does amazingly well.

As a gift from the evening, and to fit in with the black and white theme of the night, we all received a white rose. It was beautiful and had a lovely scent. When I got home I put it gently on the bench and the next morning Bryce put it in a nice vase so we could enjoy it. It continued to open over the next few days and is still a lovely centrepiece on our dining table.

I was at a friends place tonight who joined me on Saturday and saw her rose blending in very nicely with her black and white theme, but looking a tad tired as it had been out of water for 4 days. We both received the same rose, but its impact and beauty changed because of what we did with it.

I think the same can be said about what we take away from special events such as the Mothers Day Evening. Everybody receives the same encouragement, inspiration and challenge, and many will speak highly of the event in the same way, but unless you nurture what you have received, it will lose its beauty and impact very quickly.

Our meals this week are flavoured with the scent of the rose, and I pray that not only will my year be flavoured by the characteristics of God that were put in a new light, but that my life will be flavoured by my daily meeting with Him so that it brings beauty into the lives of others, and maybe even makes an impact for eternity.

What are you doing with your rose?