They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. I do not know who “they” are but I believe they are right. I have been slowly learning this age old adage in practical ways. I really like it when God shows me lessons from the everyday routine of life. He can take the ordinary and teach me something extraordinary. That is, something that I need to learn. He exposes my own selfish motives and misunderstandings. And my shortcomings in judging by what I see versus what is reality.
Recently, here in the United States, we celebrated Mother’s Day. My adult children gave me a beautiful floral arrangement. It was delivered a few days before Mother’s Day and to be truthful I was expecting it, as they give me flowers every year. But it still amazed me how nice it was. There were pink roses and white hydrangea blooms. There were ferns and wild flowers. And then some weird looking green pods. I noticed them because among all the beautiful blooms and filler fern leaves, they just didn’t fit. I do a small amount of gardening myself and I am familiar with flowers, but these weird green pods didn’t look like any flower I had seen before. I began to wonder why the florists had added them to the bouquet.
As the roses began to fade and the edges of their petals turned brown, I noticed something about the green pods; they changed color too. They were beginning to fade from deep green to a softer, paler green color. A few days later, as I removed faded rose blooms, the pods began to change shape and form a point on one end. A couple more days went by and I was awarded a spectacular view of this once green pod opening into a white lily bloom. I had wondered before if this was a lily, but it was so tightly closed, it made me doubt what it was. I also was confused as to why the florist wouldn’t have just added lilies in bloom for the arrangement. But, what I could not see before, finally revealed itself. This beautiful bloom had been there all along, but I failed to see it. I only remarked about the beautiful pink roses. But, now as the roses have faded by and turned into an unsightly brown, I have a new fresh white lily bloom to admire. I now see what the florist was doing. This beautiful bouquet, a gift in celebration for a single day, will now continue to give me joy for longer than the roses have.
Another lesson learned that what I see in people is not always what is going on in them on the inside. People might look ordinary, yet as I get to know them, they reveal an amazing personality and ability. We tend to judge others by appearances, and fail to see their beauty. The beauty that God knows is there all along. We are all His amazing workmanship. Let us try to see others as God sees them. And be patient with others. Maybe they are just waiting to bloom. -God Bless, Nancy
Moving Forward 