Gerbera daisies are my favorite flower.\u00a0 Their big blooms and vibrant colors always seem to draw me in and make me smile.\u00a0 Generally, I purchase the blooms already cut in the floral department of my local grocery store.\u00a0 The other day, however, after a Home Depot run with their dad, my kids brought me home two potted Gerbera daisies.\u00a0 They handed them to me and I was struck by something I had never noticed or realized before.\u00a0 Gerbera daisies are not pretty plants.\u00a0 Truth be told, they are fairly ugly.\u00a0 Their leaves resemble something much closer to a weed than a flower.\u00a0 They are jagged and rough, a stark contrast to the soft smooth flowers they surround.\u00a0 Only when the stunning, captivating blooms open is the true beauty of the plant revealed.\u00a0 And it\u2019s easy to miss.\u00a0 If you catch a plant too early, before it\u2019s had a chance to unveil itself, you might easily mistake it for a much lesser flora.<\/p>\n
Lately, I have felt strangely like a Gerbera daisy plant.\u00a0 Over the past couple days, there have been some in my life that have judged me by my leaves.\u00a0 They have seen little that is redeemable or lovable in me and have simply dismissed me.\u00a0 They have called me ugly and accused me of being hard and rough.\u00a0 To say the least, it is extremely painful.\u00a0 As I stand listening to the words used to describe me, I want to scream, to shout, to state my case loudly and clearly.\u00a0 \u201cYou aren\u2019t looking close enough!\u00a0 You aren\u2019t seeing all of me.\u00a0 You are missing the very best parts.\u201d\u00a0 And I want to beg them, plead with them, convince them to wait.\u00a0 If they would only hold their judgment and wait patiently they would see that there is vibrancy beyond the baseness, there is softness amidst the roughness and there is beauty despite the ugliness.<\/p>\n
I think one of the richest, most affirming passages in all of scripture is Psalm 139.\u00a0 From first verse to last it is full of promises and glimpses highlighting the glorious intimacy between God the Father and His creation.\u00a0 And sandwiched in the middle of that chapter is verse 14.\u00a0 \u201cI praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.\u00a0 Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.\u201d\u00a0 As I read this verse today, my heart swelled with hope while my eyes welled with tears. \u00a0I dug a little deeper in hopes of finding further meaning.\u00a0 It was revealed in the word \u201cwonderfully\u201d.\u00a0 One of the possible translations of the Hebrew word for \u201cwonderfully\u201d is \u201cshow marvelous\u201d.\u00a0 As I read those two words, it stopped me in my tracks.\u00a0 \u201cShow marvelous\u201d; or show extraordinary or splendid according to Webster\u2019s dictionary. \u00a0And again I was reminded of the daisy.\u00a0 Despite it\u2019s ugly leaves, if you wait patiently and give it a chance, it will most definitely show itself to be marvelous.\u00a0 If you look past the unappealing mess that encircles the heart of the plant, you will be struck by just how marvelous it is.\u00a0 And I am hopeful that the same is true of me.\u00a0 I am hopeful that just as God shows the Gerbera daisy to be marvelous and splendid, He will show me to be the same.\u00a0 That amidst all the unsightly tangles surrounding me, He will complete me, reveal me and show me marvelous.<\/p>\n
I am anxious for that day.\u00a0 I am anxious for the moment when those around me will see a marvelous work rather than a mess.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid it may be a ways off.\u00a0 Unfortunately, my blooming season is probably in the distant future.\u00a0 Most of what comprises me now is far from splendid or extraordinary.\u00a0 But I find great comfort in the hope and the promise.\u00a0 I find such delight and grace in the fact that my Creator sees what is marvelous in me and finds me worthy.\u00a0 And for today, that is enough. Today I will do my best to disregard the comments and judgments directed at my awkward growth.\u00a0 And I will quietly prompt those around me and encourage them to wait for my blooms.\u00a0 To be patient and look more closely.\u00a0 To see me through God\u2019s eyes and perhaps they will get a glimpse of the marvelous that is waiting to unveil itself.<\/p>\n
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