I love flowers!  The beauty they bring can brighten up any circumstance.

Roses, daisies, hydrangea, tulips, and peonies are just a few that come to mind when I think of flowers.   However, there is one flower that many people do not even think about or perhaps even know about… the LOTUS.

The lotus is a native flower for both India and Vietnam, and lotus holds enormous symbolic weight. What is it about this mysterious blossom that I find so appealing, you may ask? Although its colorful bloom is an obvious clue, the lotus also has a life cycle unlike any other. With its roots based in mud, it submerges every night into murky river water, and—undeterred by its dirty environment—it miraculously re-blooms the next morning without any sign of residue on its petals.

The lotus has stunned people with its ability to dip into the grime and revive itself unscathed.  Due to the waxy protective layer on the petals, its beauty is unaffected when it re-blooms each morning. The lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud.  This flower refuses to accept defeat!  Every single day, the lotus comes back more beautiful than the day before, without fail, with no residue of the environment of which it has emerged.

I love the symbolism that this flower represents. 

There are times in our lives that we feel as if we are buried deep in the mud.  That mud can represent debt, poor physical health, emotional or mental conditions, just to name a few.  There is one stark difference between the lotus and the child of God.  The lotus actually finds comfort in the muck and grime, but we are never meant to find comfort in that type of environment.

I think about the waxy, protective layer on the Lotus petals and it reminds me of the blood of Jesus.  You see, that is the most powerful substance in the universe.  When the blood of Jesus covers us, there is no amount of residue that can stay!

God has a great plan for our lives! 

The scripture says in 3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.”

There will be times when we feel as if we are “stuck in the mud,” but it is by His love and power that when we emerge, we will do so just as the Lotus, without spot or residue.  We live in a fallen world, and bad things happen to good people every day, including me!  I had an extreme life interruption greater than anything I have ever experienced before.  But by His grace, His love, and the unwavering faith and love of my family, God brought me through it. And I, too emerged with no sign of residue!

God never told us things would be easy, but we have the command from Him in Deuteronomy 31:6 to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.”

That is how good our God is.  

There is something about the thick mud that brings strength to the Lotus and forces it to rise each morning, more beautiful than the day before.  It is in the darkness of the mud that transformation takes place.  It is in the mud where roots become stronger because they are being nourished!

It is in the mud where God gently reminds us that some of His best work is done in the darkness!