Have you ever bought a bouquet of roses that never fully opened? Didn’t you feel cheated? Roses are so beautiful and yet so delicate and short-lived, even more the reason to be disappointed when they don’t completely bloom. Each petal is important to the beauty of the rose, and each petal is missed when it falls. But to never achieve that beauty of full bloom is the greatest loss.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wonder at life’s end if I had fully bloomed. While realizing that life is full of choices – right and wrong, good and bad – I want to have peace that I didn’t let too many opportunities slip away. I don’t want to get stuck in comfort and contentment so long that I am not open to a new venture. This has not been my pattern for much of my life, as I stayed the course in most situations. I didn’t want to go to the edge and risk my comfort. After all, contentment is a very good attribute.
But there could come another day of opportunity, and I want to be ready. I don’t want to be afraid. For once, I want to take that chance, that risk – or putting it in a more positive light – I want to be ready for that new season. I want to have the courage to step into that next pair of shoes.
Just like the bouquet of flowers I set on the table a few days ago, I want to experience full bloom if but only for a season. Remember, life is a vapor. (James 4:14)
Half bloomed or fully bloomed? Sometimes the choice really is ours to make.
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