Hope

We have a geranium that we bought it in 2021 in the late-summer, early-fall. Geraniums are drought tolerant and thrive in direct sun. What they don’t like is the cold. So of course, in the winter they die back and return when conditions are favorable. This particular geranium was in a hanging basket that I left hanging on a shepherd’s hook when we went on a trip. I honestly did not give it much thought. However, the kind person who was tending to our house and animals while we were gone, rescued this lovely, green, flowering-geranium from the snowy elements and placed it in our bathroom. It hung on an exposed pipe behind the bathroom door for months. The leaves turned brown, fell to the floor and the petals faded. From mid October to June, I watered it once. And it leaked all over the floor so I never watered it again. Why didn’t I just toss it? I don’t know. I suppose out of sight, (for the most part) is out of mind. Each time I saw it hanging there, I’d remind myself to take it down for the next trash pick up. I never did. It just hung there looking desolate; unloved; uncared for.

Then spring time arrived and by now I remembered a friend telling me that geraniums planted in pots will revive after a rest in the winter. At first, I thought “this poor little dude is beyond revival it needs a miracle.” But, I decided to take a chance and plant it.

I took it out of its “resting” basket. All the remaining dried up soil scattered around my feet exposing shriveled and lifeless roots. I buried the root ball in a new pot with new nutrient- rich soil and watered it. The brown stalks were pathetically barren. As I stepped back to look at it, I didn’t have much hope because it looked like I planted a broken, dead stick. Over the next several weeks, it looked like nothing was happening. In fact, I decided to cut back one of the barren branches. The inside of the stalk was lifelessly black. (I was pretty sure this was an example of a gardener’s black-thumb moment.)

But then, a miracle for this long suffering geranium. One little, tiny-bitty leaf emerged from one of the seemingly dead stalks. And slowly, over time, as this geranium bathed in the Colorado sun and received regular water, the whole stalk flourished with greenery. And the funnest part happened when it began to blossom with sweet pink flowers. The “broken dead stick” came to life and bloomed gloriously.

Now, I realize this experience could fall under the category of, “cool story, bro.” But it’s more than the random luck of an unknowledgeable or apathetic gardener. It’s about identity, promises, and revival.

Though I was half-hearted about this geranium and didn’t hold on to a lot of hope about a second season of blooming, God is not that way with us. He tenderly cares for us and gently preserves our identity and His promises. Being joined together to Him and through Him by the blood of Jesus; our identity is securely rooted into us by Him. So regardless of what we have been through or what has happed to us, our identity does not change. His purposes for our lives have not been deterred. His promises to us and over our lives are still true regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. The external culture, political climate, or financial pressures have not changed who He is or how deeply He loves us.

Three elements brought life to the geranium. New soil, sunshine, and water. All the neglect of hanging out in a bathroom with no water became irrelevant. It’s true purpose came to life as it stood where it was planted. We, too, have access to similar elements. The soil surrounding our roots is fresh with the nutrients of what God has done; our own testimonies. Each of us can look back over our lives and see the hand of God faithfully walking with us and bringing us through to this point in our lives. Remember the testimony in your own life because it brings nourishment to your roots.

Let Him be that wrap around presence for you like the sunshine that flooded over the geranium. Through worship and meditation we are drawn into deeper intimacy with Him; we learn who He is and who He has made us to be. Just by basking in His presence. And finally but not least, water the roots with the fresh water of His Word. Holy Spirit is speaking to you, strengthening you, reviving you. Soak it up through the meditation of His Word.

We are in a new season. A season of the bride of Christ stepping fully into identity. The identity He has established from the beginning. Let Him breathe life into your identity, and renew hope into His promises.