Beauty in a Box

 

The work of a floral designer can be perceived as dreamy and romantic. The truth is, it’s really not like that at all. 

It’s a satisfying form of creativity and just like any other art form, a great deal happens before the “beautiful” emerges. What isn’t seen is the messy process that precedes the beautiful outcome. If you’ve ever worked in a floral shop, you know what I mean.

Flowers arrive to a shop packed in boxes. They are strategically and protectively arranged to protect and preserve them from damage while in transit. If mishandled, flowers can be bruised. The job of the floral designer begins here. The goal? To carefully unpack the flowers and transfer them to another safe place, a cylinder container filled with fresh water.

Before the stems are submerged in water though, essential things need to happen. As the flowers are unpacked, the stems are cleaned, then given a generous new cut. This is done so that when they’re put in a bucket of water, they can “drink up”. The new cut helps them do this. 

The flowers can’t sit around very long because without a water source the flowers will begin to deteriorate. All these steps are referred to as processing the flowers. Once the processing is completed, the flowers are placed into a large cooler. Here they lie in wait to be transformed through the skill of a floral designer. A transformation will soon take place. Random stems and blooms will come together and will become a beautiful arrangement. 

The designer starts working with the various stems and blooms and begins to artistically place each flower in a vase. If you were to see the work space of a floral designer, you would see a mess on the floor. Discarded leaves are stripped from stems. Extra stem lengths are cut and drop to the floor or scatter on the work surface. It gets messy. But with time, something beautiful emerges. A lovely design ready to be delivered to somebody special.

Just like the flowers, the messy parts of our lives are taken through steps and stages. We too become transformed at the hand of a master designer, God.

The process in the flower shop has necessary steps. One of the most significant steps is that fresh cut. When stems are away from water for a time, they form a seal at the base of their stem. It’s how they protect themselves. This seal helps them fight off infection or the possibility of drying out. But this seal also prohibits them from absorbing water. If left unprocessed, their beauty will begin to fade. That’s why the new cut is so important, and the processing needs to happen on a timely basis.

Our process of transformation goes through steps and stages as well. We are always being “processed” because God is continually at work in us. He ushers us from mess to mess to bring us to from one beautiful design to another. Just as the floral designer strips unnecessary leaves and pieces from the flowers that will be used in the final design, Gods strips us of things that keep us from living out His true design for our lives. 

While we don’t welcome the messes of life, God uses them in many ways. Our transformed lives are meant to be shared with others. Our stories become the beautiful blooms that share a story of hope. Our messy stories, our transformed lives, are used to create a beautiful design for others. A design that unfolds God’s love story for all of us. In these transformation stories, God’s goodness is revealed. His grace offers hope to others and this hope gives others the opportunity to trust in Him.

Life is riddled with pain, and we don’t like it when it shows up. Then why? Why is it that we go from mess to mess? Why do we go through the process of getting that “fresh cut” over and over again? Our suffering is an opportunity to surrender to God. Here He can submerge our situation into the living water of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This place of surrender is where his grace and mercy appear. It is in this posture that we can bloom.

And yet, we have options. We can choose to stay in the box, unprocessed and left to wither. For some, this place is familiar. Too familiar and it becomes comfortable. 

We can, however, choose a different path. A path where God can begin to work as a Master Designer. What’s required? A willingness to examine our broken self, our mess, and then invite God right into it. It can start with a breath and a simple prayer.

When someone receives a floral arrangement, they simply see the finished product, a lovely floral design. A small greeting card reveals the name of the sender. Typically, they won’t know whose hands created the completed design or the name of the designer.

When we come to Christ, we come unarranged. We come as a mess of flowers that are not in order. We come to Him while we are still in the box. 

The good news is that God, our designer, loves us even when we are still in the box. Even when we are out of sorts and not connected to the life source. He comes to us in the dark places we’re stuck in and He trims and processes our lives to get us to beautiful. He comes to us when we are not plugged into the source that gives us life and He never gives up on us. He is ready to gather our messes and turn them into something beautiful. And when others see this magnificent work, this beautiful arrangement, they will know who the Master Designer is because His signature is revealed when others see the beautiful that came from our mess.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  

2 Corinthians 3:18

• What mess are you keeping hidden in a box?
• What "protective coating" do you need removed?
• If you’re ready to surrender your messes, pray a simple prayer and give it to God.

 

Hi friends! Happy autumn!

It’s a beautiful time of year in the Midwest. I hope you are enjoying the colors. They represent more than beauty, they are an illustration of transition. We are in transition as we journey through life, and sadly the past months have broken so many opportunities to live through the transitions together. We’re not meant to do life alone! And so, I encourage you to reach out and connect with others. Share things of the heart because that is where the deepest connections take place! Stay tuned! I hope to be offering an opportunity for small group discussions on topics of the heart. This will be an on-line study, limited in size with no more than six participants. If you think you might want to reserve a seat, please let me know. Details… We will be using Mark Jobe’s book, “What Now? How to Move into Your Next Season.” What will I need? A computer or mobile phone to connect with Skype (you don’t need Skype downloaded on your device), Mark Jobe’s book (through Amazon, Moody Press, or other outlets.)