Last week, when we pulled in our driveway from a long weekend in Maine, I was already anticipating what I was sure awaited me: six lilac trees, all in bloom. Somehow I mustered enough self-control to make myself unpack the car and unpack the bags before heading outside with clippers. In no time, our little apartment was filled with lavender blooms, giving off their strong and unmistakable aroma of spring.
All winter, I had been waiting for those first fresh flowers to be welcomed back inside.
Two days later, though, the purple flowers were already drooping, despite the care I’d given them. By that night, I knew their time was over.
Already? Two days? That’s all I get?
And I thought immediately of Isaiah’s words:
“The grass withers, the flower fades…”
Just another reminder that this world is not to be clung to. Even the loveliest things fade away, and the only rest for our souls is the eternal hope of His glorious Kingdom.
So as I threw away all of those withered branches, I let my heart be reminded to look ahead to beauty that will never fade, joy that will never dim, and life that is eternal.