Maiden Flowers

Inspired by the Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13:1-23)

A lovelit flower maiden sprinkled the prayed-over flowers from her blessing basket down the aisle for a happy, hopeful bride. These were no ordinary flowers; they were anointed with powerful blessings from true Love.  Depending on the real condition of the Bride’s heart, the prayer blessings could take root and grow within her, her groom, and any children they had, transforming them into Love’s most beautiful form.  A bride is the heart and the groom is the head of a family.

 If the Bride’s heart wasn’t prepared, the flowers could turn into ordinary bird seed the very next day. For the blind but open heart, there were light, white flowers that would serve to illuminate the darkness of a heart unaware with wisdom and for respect. It is important to honor a husband and the Lord and this does not always happen by feelings. The vibrant purple flowers, held as if by magic, were for the fruit of faithfulness that would work endurance when trouble twisted its way into time. Without this blessing, many brides stumble and sometimes fall into a more difficult walk. The red flowers were the prettiest, perhaps for what they did. Lifting gratitude over vanity in the heart, they seeded within her satisfaction and happiness that money could not buy. For contentment with godliness is great gain according to 1 Tim. 6:6.

 No matter if thorns grew around the couple or their family, or how trouble twisted its twine, the blessing protected the joy and strength in her heart. For the joy of the Lord is our strength according to Nehemiah 8:10.There may have been other flowers in the basket, but my favorite maiden flower was the one wild flower. Found on the way to the wedding, it was to be prayed over and given to the bride to press into her Book at the altar; the book that kept growing the planted blessings deeper into her heart. Her Bible. Its words are living water. Sometimes, the bride finds that pieces of her heart are absolutely wild like the flower. Those pieces are the petals that she doesn’t want to surrender; but eventually should. Sometimes she isn’t aware of them until later when she counts his record of wrongs called..."he loves me not." Love keeps no record of wrongs according to the Love Chapter of the Bible (I Cor. 13).

The Book must press that wilderness within her heart out until petal by petal is counted and released over a patient time.  For most, the surrendering of oneself doesn't happen over night. The process can be very painful--the Bible calls it "crucifying our flesh and taking up our cross." Just as the tender stem once pushed and struggled upward against gravity to stand as an independent stalk, now it must work Love by doing the opposite reaching and spreading itself deep into the dark ground of life-- like the kernel of wheat that must fall and die and be buried to produce any fruit, like Christ, who is our example. For dying to this life takes faith, and your real life is hidden with Christ in the Father, the way its hidden in a seed, according to  Colossians 3:3.  Pressure and time tend to make ordinary things beautiful and strong, pure. Just look at your ring! Best Wishes! By Melanie Sue Lynch Evans-2012 All Rights Reserved