Do you see them?

The wild roses in the ditch?

Mostly not.

We’re all moving

Too fast.

But sometimes

in our breakneck

pace

comes

a ditch,

unexpected.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes

the “halt” we hear

is a challenge,

not a command.

A challenge to

wriggle our way

round the edges,

cause to halt

would mean to stop

and we don’t

stop.

Not much anyways.

 

 

 

But what if we accepted

what limits us

and saw “halt”

not as restriction,

not as a command,

not as a challenge to defy,

but as a gift?

 

What if we don’t know best

and the future isn’t all we’ve

chiselled it in stone to be

and to halt now is actually

the BEST thing for us?

 

 

 

I read this week

that He sets the pace

of our lives

in a way

that fits our needs

and accomplishes

His purposes.

Do I believe that?

That every “halt” is still

Him prospering me?

That every “wait” is

a loving opportunity

to trust Him?

 

 

It’s not my job,

last I checked,

to make, force, push,

will into being His Kingdom.

I am to seek His Kingdom first.

But it’s His will be done.

It’s His Kingdom come.

Not mine.

 

 

It’s my job

to humbly accept

hanging out in the ditch

till the way

is clear.

 

 

We have a few choices

in the waiting,

in whatever ditch

You’v found yourself in.

Choice 1. Grump, groan and

Get bitter.

Choice 2. Pace, chew your nails,

and attempt clandestine escape operations.

Choice 3. See the wild roses in the ditches.

 

What part of this

“wait,” this “halt,”

this ditch

are you missing

cause you can’t hone in

on the here and now?

 

Do you see them?

They only last for a few brief weeks.

No one tends them.

No one planted them.

They grow wild

and ramble

Along under the

cool shade of the poplar,

soaking in the sun

and water,

greeting the bumbling bees

and gently unfurling

their delicate, blushing petals.

 

 

You can eat the petals, you know.

They taste like June.

You don’t pluck the blooms though

cause the thorns

catch your skin,

but you can hold them

in your view

in the moment

that is right

before you.

 

 

If we can trust

that His way is best

and He is setting the pace

for us,

we can accept the

ditches

and see the wild roses

and trust His will

will be done.

Today is our chance.

Do you see them?