Protected

 

I took the secateurs outside to dead-head the roses. Given the recent showery weather we’ve had, including some torrential downpours, many of the roses looked sad and beaten, even if they hadn’t yet died. On weak stems, they hung their sorry heads, petals browning and shrivelling and shedding.

But underneath, growing quietly under the canopy of leaves and big, battered blooms, a rosebud perched erect on its stem. Its leaves were green, and it was beginning to open and bless us  with its beautiful fragrance.

Jesus invites us to pull in close to him. He expressed a frustration that he wanted to gather those in Jerusalem in close, like a hen does her chicks, but they wouldn’t come. That little rose bud reminds me that as I seek to shelter in the arms of Jesus, he enables me to bloom. The winds and rains may batter all around, but I don’t need to receive the blows if I stay close to him.

I am so grateful that I can live in the shadow of his wings. That is life to the full.