A winter's bloom

     Just had to give a shout out to the Lord for this magnificent camellia blossom right outside our kitchen door!  Wow--and trust me, we did absolutely nothing to encourage this bloom.  We surely have the most neglected, laissez faire garden in Raleigh. But there you have it--God can handle it just fine on His own, thank you very much.
     Last night we endured nearly gale force gusts--so strong, in fact, that the winds blew over a big,  heavy pot with an equally hefty plant inside of it on our front porch.  And yet, look: I awoke this morning and saw this delicate bloom outside our door as well.  How on earth did it withstand the howling winds and pouring rain?  But it did.  In fact, it more than survived--it thrived, singing of the glory of God.
     So here, right in the teeth of winter, with the winds blowing briskly and the frigid temperatures moving back in today, God sends us a reminder that He is always in the business of new birth and beauty and persevering blessings.  Even when we least expect it... or deserve it... or even hope for it.
     He's just always at work, isn't He?  Sometimes silently in the face of the storms of life, but nonetheless, always always always working.  And perhaps the storms bring out His best work, for it so often seems those times of upheaval and stress and difficulty ultimately reveal how truly great and glorious His work is.   Demonstrating His relentless working for His greater glory and our greater good.
     We may not always understand how, but we can trust the hand of the Gardener even when we cannot comprehend His immediate plan.  Because the bloom is coming.  Even in the "bleak mid-winter."  To God be the glory.