Resilience

Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Steady my footsteps in your word;

let no iniquity have dominion over me.

Psalm 119:133

The bright warmth of the afternoon lures me outside and I finally begin to gather up the fallen branches in the yard, the detritus from days of rain and wind. I brush away dead leaves uncovering the full brightness of the petite daffodils that have bloomed when I wasn’t looking. And in the debris, I discover first one, then another, dried hydrangea bloom, still intact.

These delicate flowers, at some point blown off their stems, are even more fragile now that they are dried. Yet they have survived rain and snow and winter cold. It is their fragility that has saved them I realize. The lightness of each petal offers no resistance to the elements, allowing all to pass by of through them. Drained of life and color, nevertheless they remain beautiful and offer testimony of resilience.

They remind me of the strength in vulnerability, the Christlike quality essential for this journey. To cross this wilderness, I must surrender to the One who can steady my footsteps.