Heavenly Bouquets

In a recent regional church broadcast, the speaker held up a bouquet of flowers that she had been given before the meeting and said something to the effect of, “Aren’t these beautiful? I wish there was a way everyone could enjoy these beautiful flowers. As you go through life, I hope you notice ways that your Heavenly Father figuratively gives you flowers every day. I hope you notice the little things that show He is thinking of you, His precious child.”

This concept zinged my soul.

Having this heavenly bouquet concept taught, internalized and practiced BEFORE a hard time hit is another way I can see God’s hand in my life. Looking for heavenly bouquets helped maintain steady internal peace during a difficult and uncertain time.

With her permission, I share that our 20-year-old is recovering from a stress-induced mental health crash. The past month has been full of up-and-down days and long, often scary nights.

And that’s just from the perspective of the know-nothing parents trying to assist!

During these weeks, there have been a few “everyday moments of hope, peace, and joy”1 where time freezes for a couple of seconds as something just for Mom is noted.

For example, spotting an out-of-season of a meadow lark and hearing its tripping warble probably wouldn’t mean much to most people…but that’s my favorite bird and my favorite sound. My spirit was instantly lifted.

Waking up with a song on instant replay in one’s mind probably isn’t that unusual, but when the repeated song is a soothing hymn that lends internal steadiness during a challenging 24 hours, I count it as Divine Intervention.

While silently puzzling through the situation on a car ride, I watched our one-year-old reach over, squeeze my arm, and brightly say something in baby gibberish directly to my face before turning back to look out the window. I don’t know what she said, but the experience brought instant comfort to my agitated heart.

This has been a doozy of a month. Our daughter’s recovery is going to take lots of time, but our family is facing the future with a “brightness of hope”2.

I can now and will continue to witness with “absolute confidence that a loving Heavenly Father is at our side”3, sending personalized heavenly bouquets, if we can see them.