This past Easter Sunday I was out taking a walk when I noticed something strange, a little way off the path there were some upside-down black plastic flower containers. I went over to investigate and was surprised to find these little pots still had flowers in them. The soil was completely dry and the flowers were beaten up and partially crushed, but they still had some green in so I deemed them worth saving.
I carried them home and popped them into the kitchen sink since the first thing they needed was a nice drink. To my surprise and horror really some kind of nasty bugs came crawling out of the pots as they filled with water! I don't know what kind of insects they were, but they were creepy looking and I didn't want them in my house so I hurriedly smashed them all. After a good soaking, I gingerly carried them to the balcony still paranoid that more bugs would come crawling out.
I figured I should wait a little while to see if they managed to come back to life in full before repotting them. After only a week and half they were standing up straight, full of color, and even starting to bloom!
It looked like they were going live so it was time to repot them. I picked up some nice bright happy pots and gave them a new home.
In the next month, they doubled in size and are continuing to live happily to this day. There was a bump along the way when it reached 108 F or so one day, which is really rare for California, and they got sun scored. I moved them to the shade and they are coming back quite nicely again.
Why have I decided these begonias are resurrection flowers? Well, I found them on Easter Sunday and they were practically dead and came back to life. That's the simplest answer. But, I did think the whole story is rather symbolic of a Christian conversion story.
Here is what the story symbolizes to me:
The flower is like the soul. This soul was found in dry and withered state. It was crushed and bruised, by the weight of the world bearing down on it.
The flower could not help itself from the dire situation it found itself in. Without outside help, it would surely die. A soul can not help itself out of the grip of sin on its own. A soul must allow God to lift it out of ditch, and set it back on solid ground. God will never give up on any soul no matter what state He finds it in, but if a soul is unwilling to allow God to help it, it will surely die the eternal death.
The flower was brought back to life through water and the sun, while a bruised and broken soul is brought back to life through the sacraments particularly Baptism, and contact with the Son. When the flower was drenched in the life-giving water, harmful insects were expelled out of its container. When a soul is drenched in the life-giving water of Baptism, harmful sins are expelled from it and the soul is made perfectly clean and new again.
When the flower spent time in the sun, it thrived. When the soul spends time with the Son it thrives.
Sometimes the heat of the harsh world will cause the flower to wither, just as the soul will sometimes fall back into sin. But the flower can be renewed when its environment changes and a soul can be renewed when it is cleansed anew by the sacrament of Reconciliation then strives to change its habits and environment so it does not fall into sin again.
The flower makes beautiful blooms when it is alive and healthy, just as a soul can be used by God to make beautiful things such as bringing encouragement, joy, or peace to others when it's is truly alive and healthy.
The question is which flower is your soul like?
If you don't know where to start click Here for a bunch of awesome resources. Or feel free to email me at findingfishes@gmail.com
I carried them home and popped them into the kitchen sink since the first thing they needed was a nice drink. To my surprise and horror really some kind of nasty bugs came crawling out of the pots as they filled with water! I don't know what kind of insects they were, but they were creepy looking and I didn't want them in my house so I hurriedly smashed them all. After a good soaking, I gingerly carried them to the balcony still paranoid that more bugs would come crawling out.
I figured I should wait a little while to see if they managed to come back to life in full before repotting them. After only a week and half they were standing up straight, full of color, and even starting to bloom!
It looked like they were going live so it was time to repot them. I picked up some nice bright happy pots and gave them a new home.
In the next month, they doubled in size and are continuing to live happily to this day. There was a bump along the way when it reached 108 F or so one day, which is really rare for California, and they got sun scored. I moved them to the shade and they are coming back quite nicely again.
Why Resurrection Flowers?
Here is what the story symbolizes to me:
The flower is like the soul. This soul was found in dry and withered state. It was crushed and bruised, by the weight of the world bearing down on it.
The flower could not help itself from the dire situation it found itself in. Without outside help, it would surely die. A soul can not help itself out of the grip of sin on its own. A soul must allow God to lift it out of ditch, and set it back on solid ground. God will never give up on any soul no matter what state He finds it in, but if a soul is unwilling to allow God to help it, it will surely die the eternal death.
The flower was brought back to life through water and the sun, while a bruised and broken soul is brought back to life through the sacraments particularly Baptism, and contact with the Son. When the flower was drenched in the life-giving water, harmful insects were expelled out of its container. When a soul is drenched in the life-giving water of Baptism, harmful sins are expelled from it and the soul is made perfectly clean and new again.
When the flower spent time in the sun, it thrived. When the soul spends time with the Son it thrives.
Sometimes the heat of the harsh world will cause the flower to wither, just as the soul will sometimes fall back into sin. But the flower can be renewed when its environment changes and a soul can be renewed when it is cleansed anew by the sacrament of Reconciliation then strives to change its habits and environment so it does not fall into sin again.
The flower makes beautiful blooms when it is alive and healthy, just as a soul can be used by God to make beautiful things such as bringing encouragement, joy, or peace to others when it's is truly alive and healthy.
The question is which flower is your soul like?
If you don't know where to start click Here for a bunch of awesome resources. Or feel free to email me at findingfishes@gmail.com
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