Facing the Challenging Parts of Life

“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

(2 Peter 3:14, ESV)

Many of us have enjoyed the flowers as they bloom in gardens throughout our community, but even more amazing might be the small self-seeding blooms that grow out of the cracks and crevices of our sidewalks and patios. These flowers are often smaller and more stunted, but they push up beautiful blooms full of colour; they stand alone as they were an unexpected expression of beauty.

On good days, we are often like the flowers of a garden, standing strong, bright, and together with others. When with others, we appear vibrant and strong. But we all face days or seasons where we feel tired, weak, alone; we feel like our roots are in a crack more than a well-watered garden.

It can be tempting to stay only in the garden where we are tended and cared for, where problems seem fleeting and covered by others, where we can hide in the crowd. We pluck the “unwanted” flower from the crack rather than appreciating its tenacity, ignoring the call on our lives to stand for truth (to “contend for the faith” as Jude 3 puts it). Sometimes standing for truth requires us to face the “weeds” of temptation and sin in our own lives; other times it requires us to speak into the lives of others.

Are we only willing to be outwardly vibrant in our faith when surrounded by others doing the same / when it is easy? Or will we stand tenaciously for “the faith” (Jude 3) even when we must stand as a lone bloom?