“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10
A lot has happened in the last two weeks in reference to the pandemic and the quarantine. We thought we had it under control. We decided a positive outcome could be expected. We took refuge under an umbrella of wishful thinking. We assumed we were safe with some partial measures. But the reality of increasing numbers of sick people in a record speed has hit us in the face.
There is a possibility we will go back to stricter measures in order to flatten the curve and not to overwhelm our health workers. They are not present in our news as they were before. Essential workers are being disrespected for the inconvenience of a mask policy. They are not appreciated as they were two months ago, but they are still exposed and getting sick at a faster pace. It’s summer and our ‘right to freedom’ gets inflated with the heat.
I dreaded this scenario. I feel anguish… How much longer, Lord? Didn’t we learn this lesson yet?
In the Children’s Ministry we tell the kids all the time why it’s important to memorize verses from the Bible. We tell them Bible verses are tools to deal with bad feelings. They provide comfort and guidance from God when we need it the most.
I’m not good at it. The Lord knows it. When I read other people’s devotionals I think to myself, I know this verse. How come it did not come to me?
Anguish, stress, fear freeze my brain for recalling verses. But my heavenly Father, the one that wired me, knows I would always look for Him in his Creation.
On March 13th, when the quarantine started, two orchid plants that I have had for years -and never bloomed before, started to bloom. It brought great joy to my soul. It was a surprising gift from God.
Every day for more than three months (yes, they lasted for more than three months!) those orchids have brightened days that felt heavy in the uncertainty.
Until this week, when they started to drop.
It saddens me to lose this reminder from God that He is always holding His creation and continues creating new things in His perfect time. Even if it takes years to produce some orchids.
As I was cleaning the flowers that fell from the stalk, I noticed something in the center of one plant. I thought it was a new leaf. It’s a new orchid stalk growing.
God is sending me another message of hope. These orchids declare his faithfulness and glory. I will share pictures with you below. It may brighten your day. “Your loving hands sustain us, Lord. We need nothing else. We trust this time will pass and it will bring great glory to you. Amen.”
Liliana Mariano
