Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. (Ps 31:24)
When my grandpa passed away over eleven years ago, I received a peace lily after his service. It’s common practice here in Oklahoma for members of the family to choose the plants they want that aren’t specifically designated for someone, so I chose the peace lily.
This plant has followed me through two moves and survived six months of serious neglect. I nearly killed it several times. Never on purpose, of course. But when I got busy, I forgot to water it, forgot to open the blinds, and just generally forgot about the poor plant that sat all alone in the corner of my house. At one point, the plant had only two small leaves pushing up from the dirt.
My mom nursed it back to health, and now, it’s bigger than ever. I keep it outside in the summer (in partial shade) so that it gets lots of natural light, and I water it profusely. This summer, it bloomed for the first time in almost eleven years.
Every time I see this plant, I think of my grandparents. Receiving the plant from my grandpa’s funeral service links it to him in my mind, and he is, in turn, always linked with my grandma. They faced many hardships during their lives and grew stronger and more resilient with each one, much like this peace lily.
We all face hardships―job loss, a difficult health diagnosis, an estranged relationship. When bad things happen, we sometimes neglect our spiritual life in the same way I neglected the peace lily. Instead of turning to God, we push him away and relegate our spiritual health to a small corner of our lives.
In spite of the difficult situations my peace lily went through, it survived and now thrives. The difficulties made for a tougher plant. Just as the plant survived, so can we.
Through any storm, any drought, God is with us. That doesn’t make the tough times easy―not by any means. But it does give us hope for the future. We can’t always see God working, and we can’t always feel his presence. What we do have are his promises: to work things out “for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28) and to never leave us (Deut 31:6), among many others.
Sometimes, we may go years before we have an answer to our prayers. But in spite of our circumstances or our feelings, God hears our prayers, and he knows our doubts. He is always there for us, and he will carry us through.
Dear Jesus, thank you for being with us in the hard times. Thank you for being with us in our doubts. Help us not to lose hope and to turn to you with our doubts and fears. Show us you are near. Amen.