Things that Last Forever

Don’t you love the beauty of flowers?  I am amazed at God’s endless variety of design, color, size, and even scent.  Recently, a sweet friend brought me a lovely bouquet of summer garden flowers, a glorious arrangement of daisies, iris, delphinium, coneflower, foxglove, and more.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I freshened the water in the vase and found just the right spot to enjoy my gift.  Sadly, about a day and a half later, there were two or three stalks drooped over, with petals wilted, so I removed them.  Within a week, the entire arrangement was dead, the flowers spent.  It saddened me. 

One day, at dusk, I walked around my yard and noticed that my large, yellow daylilies were blooming beautifully, too late to snap a picture.  The next day, with camera in hand, I went out determined to get a picture.  To my sorrow, the blossoms had been a tasty snack for the deer that had come into the yard the night before!  Well, I consoled myself with the thought that daylilies only bloom one day (hence, their name), but it seemed a shame!  The deer even chomped the coming buds!

I’m reminded of the verse in Isaiah 40:7-8 that states, “The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of our God stands forever”.  Just before that, in verse 6, it says, “All men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field”.  Yes, I am more and more aware, as I age, that our lives are so very brief on this earth.  My Uncle Claude recently died at the age of 98.  That, by anyone’s measure, is a long life, but in the scope of eternity, it is but a moment.

Even more amazing is the thought that God’s children will live with him forever in Heaven one day and I can imagine that the flowers there will be something more beautiful that we can imagine.  I’ve been singing “This World is not My Home” more and more, as the worries of America’s future and leadership grow burdensome.  I take hope in the thought that God is in control of what is happening and that I am in His loving care, no matter what happens.  My niece and nephew used to sing the little chorus, “Don’t worry, Be happy”, when they were small.  That was good advice!  God tells us to “Cast all your anxiety (cares) on Him, because He cares for you”.  Like flowers, our lives are but a vapor on this earth, but in Heaven, we will spend eternity with our Heavenly Father, and with loved ones who have gone before, as well as those who also love Him now! 

As Steve Brown would say, “Now You think about that!”