12/03/2025
Just read this beautiful message on a Facebook site. A wonderful way of looking at life's ups and downs.
Several years ago, as I was hurriedly
making my way through a home do-it-yourself store,
I just happened to spot a beautiful mauve-coloured calla lily
on the end-cap of one of the aisles.
Knowing I am not a gardener, and knowing this bulb flower
would probably be better off with anyone other than me,
I still made my way straight to this plant
and proudly placed it in my cart.
And amazingly, for the last several years,
this plant has been surviving life with me.
I've never planted it outside.
In fact, it is still in the same small container
I purchased it in that day -
which is why surviving is the only appropriate word
to describe what this plant has been doing.
Early last week as I was re-arranging
the corner of my bedroom nearest my window,
I casually reached over and picked up the container that is
home to my calla lily. And lo and behold, as I did,
I spotted a teeny, tiny, itty bitty green tip
peeking out of the dry dirt.
Remembering I had a bag of potting soil in the garage,
and noticing the dirt in this old container
was barely two or so inches deep,
I quickly went to work.
"Look at you, baby. You are amazing.
I'm so sorry, but in order to help you grow
and give you some much needed nutrient-rich soil,
I am going to have to cover you with more dirt.
I'm going to have to bury you again."
I no sooner had spoken the words before my heart and my mind flash-backed to the last nine years of my own life.
Nine years ago, I lost my husband.
His loss found me deep in grief and fighting
to find my way back up to some kind of normalcy.
A few months later as I was barely starting to see
a little sunshine, I lost my job - serving at a church -
a job that didn't feel like a job, but felt like family
and next to my husband, was all I had.
The loss of my purpose and my position there -
not to mention the loss of my spiritual family -
felt just like dirt being thrown on me.
I felt completely buried.
With no husband, and no job -
but never without my God -I tried making
my way back up to the surface of life a second time.
The struggle was so hard and the growth, so slow.
Two years later - by God's grace
and with new leadership at the church where I
had previously been employed, I was re-employed.
I finally felt as though I was starting to make
some progress in a forward direction.
For a few months.
Until a health scare for my elderly mother made it clear
she was in need of a full-time caregiver.
I said goodbye once again to my job,
to my church family, to my home of 30 years,
and moved to a new state and into a new home with my mother.
Now - four years later, I feel as though I am once again
starting to push my way upward.
And I see it all so clearly now.
All the time it felt like I was being buried
through the trials of grief, of rejection, of surrender,
of goodbye,
I was actually in the hands of my loving God -
(we always are!)
Through each "dirtload" of sorrow,
God amazingly grew my faith, grew my strength,
grew my courage, grew my ability to love and to forgive,
grew my desire to surrender to His will,
grew me up.
As I patted the new soil on top
of the now buried calla lily sprout,
tears began to fall from my eyes, landing on the dry dirt.
"Oh, Father God - just look at me now.
All those years of just trying to survive -
but through it all, here I am.
And not only that, I feel as though,
I am finally in a place where I can start to thrive.
My roots in You, Lord, have grown so deep.
Your Spirit has watered me so faithfully.
Your Word has enriched, nourished and sustained me.
Thank you, Father God, for Your promise to
use all things for good.
I see the work of Your hand and I am forever grateful."
And if plants could talk, I have a feeling
my calla lily might feel the same way.
For just this morning, I saw it once again peeking through
the new layer of dirt - only this time it was thicker
than just a few days before, no longer just surviving,
but now beginning to thrive.
Yes, the Master Gardner knows what is best.
How thankful I am to forever be in His care.~❤
~Stacy L. Sanchez
