“I don’t want you to get discouraged at this process of healing” I heard the Lord say.

You may often hear people liken our hearts, and inner healing, to an onion. There are layers to the process. While our hurt could be likened to the odor of an onion that is not very pleasant to think about.

But take the bloom of a rose instead. I would rather liken my heart to a beautiful rose.

The reason I think of the rose particularly is because it is completely enclosed, wrapped tightly with petals, but a beautiful bloom awaits to emerge. Our heart can be like this when we hide things away, put up walls and close off the world from reaching our heart.

As you begin to go through the internal healing process, you begin to open up just as the flower begins to open. Revealing the colors inside, the fragrance, shape and ultimately revealing the beautiful blossom that God created and intended it to be. Each petal is representing an emotion or wound, proving that God can take things that were hidden, dormant and distorted then turn it into something beautiful again.

It takes light, nourishment and water for that flower to blossom. As we too need to be nurtured and fed to bloom again! We must renew our minds and spirits daily by reading His word, abiding in His presence and walking in a worshipful lifestyle. This is so important to staying free once we receive our healing.

I like to use the rose as an example because it has thorns on it’s stem. When we think of thorns we think of something that could inflict pain or be a nuisance. Thorns actually help cultivate the environment where the rose bush grows. It’s a natural tiller of the soil. Thorns also help protect the beautiful bloom that awaits at the end of the stem.

When was the last time you just went and grabbed hold of a rose and picked it off? Probably never. You wouldn’t do that without the proper tool or gloves.  In nature thorns protect the bloom from predators and other pests. In the same way a thorn cultivates and protects the rose, so do the circumstances in our life, and so does our beautiful God cultivate and protect our heart. Many times I made the decision to “grab” the blossom in life without thinking I had to go through the thorns.

Our very own Lord Jesus wore a crown of thorns. The Roman soldiers thought they were humiliating Him by placing a measly crown of thorns on His head but instead they were just placing them on the beautiful rose He was. He is even called the Rose of Sharon. Ironic isn’t it.

Rose bushes can withstand some pretty rough storms. The rains may wash the petals off but the winds can seldom destroy the bush. I’d like to think of us as these beautiful blooms waiting to blossom. It is only when we allow Christ to be the gardener of our hearts, that we can become all that He has designed and intended us to be.