Testimonies

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DELAYED HOPE

My mom gave me the rhizomes to some beautiful purple iris, one of my favorite flowers. I carried them to my first house in Arizona and to both of my houses in Oregon. I felt like I had a piece of my mom near me every time I looked at them. They really are amazing flowers. They grow over four feet tall and have HUGE multiple deep purple blooms. They were the prize of my garden because of their beauty and sentimental value.

When my parents came to fetch me in Oregon, I was not myself. My brain tumor was not only affecting me physically but mentally. I remember them packing up my house and feeling I had no say about moving. My house was put up for sale, many of my prized possessions were sold, and I said good-bye to my flower garden.
I had no thought of taking my prized iris with me. It was only after my brain surgery that I hung my head in sorrow over the loss of those magnificent beauties that I had nurtured for over 25 years. They were like an old friend…. Lost, or so I thought.

A friend from Oregon offered to go over to my house and dig up a few and mail them to me. You can’t imagine the joy I felt when the package arrived. I planted them in a pot praying they would take off. Out of the 12 iris she sent, only 3 grew. They did not bloom, but they had green shoots….. a promise of what would come a year or so later.

I wanted to share this story because there is a rebuilding period when you have endured an incredible trial. There is the hope and the promise that God has plans for your future. He is still writing your story. Just as my three iris (now planted in real ground and at my new home in Colorado) will bloom, in their time, so will you. You will bloom and grow and become the beautiful creature God intended you to be. The interruption you are experiencing now will just be another chapter in your book of life.

My flowers have to make it through the winter but I know come spring, I will see the beautiful flowers I so loved, and think of my mother once again.
And well, there is more to the story now because of my trial. I will always think of the friend who understood how important the iris were to me, and who took the time to send them my way. Such a little act of kindness brought me great comfort and hope of future things to come.

PROVERBS 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

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