Can a Rose Have a Bad Petal Day?
Everyone is familiar with the term “face lift.“ This form of cosmetic surgery was once something only movie stars or the very rich indulged-in. Today it’s quite common across mainstream society. More and more people are concerned about facial-sagging when, in fact, what they should really be concerned about is soul-sagging. Beauty comes from within. Seems many of us would be better off looking inside ourselves to see where we need some spiritual tucks and tweaks. A simple look at nature, flowers in particular, helps us understand that authentic beauty blooms from inside-out.
One of the weekend retreats I offer every year is “Open Up Your Heart and Let Yourself Out!” I use nature as an example of how beauty emanates from within. It’s easy to see the beauty of a sunrise as light-beams paint red, orange and purple hues across a dark blue morning sky. And it’s easy to see the beauty of wild flowers dancing across a summer field. But do we take time to realize that this beauty begins within? Do we ever think of how nature loves itself from the inside-out? Probably not. Or do we think about how nature accepts each day as it unfolds through God‘s grace? We could learn powerful lessons from watching a rose. It accepts wild April winds blowing through its petals in the same gracious manner that it accepts lightly refreshing June winds.
So I ask you: Can a rose have a bad petal day? Can a daisy frown upon itself for not being “good enough?” Does the moon groan at its crescent face? No way! Nature doesn’t see flaws in itself, or in the flow of daily life. Roses, daisies and the moon simply long to grow into the fullness of their beauty, and so all of nature nurtures itself toward that goal. Look at flowers along the roadside and notice how nature provides its own day-spa for them. Violets and goldenrod bask in the glow of summer morning sunlight, cool themselves in the breeze of warm afternoons, and rest quietly in the gentle rains of twilight. They dig their roots deep down into the dirt and they drink-in nourishment from the earth; and never do they think they aren‘t “good enough“ or aren‘t worth nurturing themselves.
How often do we think we aren‘t worth it? How often do we neglect loving ourselves from the inside-out? How often do we neglect taking good care of our health? And how often do we keep ourselves from growing into the fullness of our beauty by criticizing ourselves or our day as it unfolds? Probably too often. Everybody needs a spiritual spa day. We all need a day where we can drink-in the morning sunshine, cool off with an afternoon breeze and relax in the warm waters of a refreshing evening shower. We could also use some quiet time with God and some spiritual lessons on saying loving words, instead of mean ones, to ourselves. And we could use a little time with loved ones-- allowing ourselves to feel lovable and loved.
God is the supreme beautician and only God can provide us with the perfect extreme makeover. Essential beauty emanates from within our souls and it transforms our personalities into peaceful radiance and our bodies into glowing temples of the Spirit. So make an appointment with God today for a soul-lift or heart-makeover. You may eventually find you don’t need that face-lift after all. So, what are you waiting for? Allow God to open-up and nourish that treasure box of beauty you have stored up inside of you. Then daily nurture yourself and allow your soul to shine!
One of the weekend retreats I offer every year is “Open Up Your Heart and Let Yourself Out!” I use nature as an example of how beauty emanates from within. It’s easy to see the beauty of a sunrise as light-beams paint red, orange and purple hues across a dark blue morning sky. And it’s easy to see the beauty of wild flowers dancing across a summer field. But do we take time to realize that this beauty begins within? Do we ever think of how nature loves itself from the inside-out? Probably not. Or do we think about how nature accepts each day as it unfolds through God‘s grace? We could learn powerful lessons from watching a rose. It accepts wild April winds blowing through its petals in the same gracious manner that it accepts lightly refreshing June winds.
So I ask you: Can a rose have a bad petal day? Can a daisy frown upon itself for not being “good enough?” Does the moon groan at its crescent face? No way! Nature doesn’t see flaws in itself, or in the flow of daily life. Roses, daisies and the moon simply long to grow into the fullness of their beauty, and so all of nature nurtures itself toward that goal. Look at flowers along the roadside and notice how nature provides its own day-spa for them. Violets and goldenrod bask in the glow of summer morning sunlight, cool themselves in the breeze of warm afternoons, and rest quietly in the gentle rains of twilight. They dig their roots deep down into the dirt and they drink-in nourishment from the earth; and never do they think they aren‘t “good enough“ or aren‘t worth nurturing themselves.
How often do we think we aren‘t worth it? How often do we neglect loving ourselves from the inside-out? How often do we neglect taking good care of our health? And how often do we keep ourselves from growing into the fullness of our beauty by criticizing ourselves or our day as it unfolds? Probably too often. Everybody needs a spiritual spa day. We all need a day where we can drink-in the morning sunshine, cool off with an afternoon breeze and relax in the warm waters of a refreshing evening shower. We could also use some quiet time with God and some spiritual lessons on saying loving words, instead of mean ones, to ourselves. And we could use a little time with loved ones-- allowing ourselves to feel lovable and loved.
God is the supreme beautician and only God can provide us with the perfect extreme makeover. Essential beauty emanates from within our souls and it transforms our personalities into peaceful radiance and our bodies into glowing temples of the Spirit. So make an appointment with God today for a soul-lift or heart-makeover. You may eventually find you don’t need that face-lift after all. So, what are you waiting for? Allow God to open-up and nourish that treasure box of beauty you have stored up inside of you. Then daily nurture yourself and allow your soul to shine!
Comments
Post a Comment