NIGHT BEAUTY

Some years back I was walking through the botanical gardens in Singapore late at night, enjoying the cooler air after a hot and steamy day. Pausing by a pond, I admired the water lilies which seemed to float on the water. Some were competely open while others were in various stages of opening. Now the majority of flowering plants open wider in the sunlight, but there are some that are at their best in times of darkness. These particular water lilies were such plants. Makes me think - dark times [grief, disappointment, rejection, the challenges of illness or a broken relationship, all the struggles of life] can bring out the best in us. As a Christian I know that there are resources I have not always drawn on [how often I try to solve problems in my own strength). Resources such as pressing into God's presence as never before, asking Him for direction, for strength, searching His word for insights and sometimes just comfort. And all these are there - they are always there because HE is always there. I love they way David puts it in Psalm 116 "I love the Lord because He has heard my voice..." Jeremiah puts it this way (God says) "Call on me and I will answer you."
But the onus is on us to call....not half-hearted but with desperation, truly wanting God to respond and willing to listen to the way in which He chooses to respond. I sat beside one water-lily waiting for that last petal to open...it was like watching the hour hand on a clock - you CAN see it move if you look intently enough - and after about 40 minutes there it was...the last petal fully extended completing the perfect flower just the way it was created to be.