Convicted By A Flower Bouquet

Beba SchlottmannOther Writings 8 Comments

I received the most beautiful flower arrangement as a gift from my boss on Administrative Assistants Appreciation week and I placed it on a ledge in front of my desk so I could stare at it all week long.  If you’ve ever received fresh cut flowers from a florist, they usually come in a vase of some sort with a small pouch of flower food attached to help preserve the flowers a little longer. 

I was so enchanted with looking at the flowers that I forgot to actually take care of the flowers.  When I walked in today, my beautiful flowers were dead!  Don‘t take me wrong, I know cut flowers eventually die, but I’d only had these for about two days.  They usually last a week!

My co-worker’s bouquets were still fresh and beautiful.  This bothered me until I noticed my vase was bone dry.  I had forgotten to change the water in the vase before I left for the day and I also forgot to put the flower food in it.  Serves me right!  I enjoyed their beauty but not once did I think about nurturing them.

Isn’t that the way we behave with our relationship with God?  You see, we love the good times, when everything is good and easy, but when we have to work, then we neglect to do what needs to be done.  We love God’s blessings, but we don’t think twice about preserving His presence.  Oh, that our desire for Him would go beyond staring at His beauty! 

Teresa of Avila once wrote, “The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too”.  We are never given the slightest of hints that we are on this journey alone or that He is a distant God to be admired from a distance as just a beautiful object; He is so much more! Though sometimes just a glimpse of Him would be enough, I often fear that we stop there and fail to trully experience Him.

Perhaps is time we learn to treasure Him beyond cross necklaces, books or rituals.  How do I do that? I’m glad you asked.  Here are a few tips I gathered from my incident with the flower bouquet:

  • Wake up and smell the roses – reevaluate your life 
  • Change the water – Stop polluting your life
  • Pour the plant food – Study the word, pray and find godly mentors to help you grow

 Ultimately, you and I need to do all the work that needs to be done to preserve His presence in ours lives in a deeper, real and more personal way.

Comments 8

  1. Wow! That was very enriching Beba! Thanks for making me be MORE attentive! I pray that God continues to use you to bless others.

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  2. Beba, I had the same experience with my flowers and really enjoyed reading about the lesson learned from the experience. Thanks for the reminder of what is most important.

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  3. Wonderful analogy! I would like to borrow this one for a devotion with my Emmaus Reunion Group one day.
    Thanks for the message!

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