God's perfect peace

Sometimes God brings chaos and confusion into our lives so that He can bring His peace and reveal Himself in a dynamic way.  God loves to redeem chaotic situations with His peace... to replace confusion with peace.  He did it at Creation when he turned "formlessness and void" into life and order and being.  He does it at death when he replaces a faithful man's painful, struggling breath with eternal peace and life.  

One time my boyfriend gave me a beautiful orchid plant.  It was perfect, and I loved it.   The flowers were lovely... almost too good to be true.  But I was afraid... because I knew the flowers would wilt and die, and I knew I could never make them bloom again.  I was afraid of messing up... afraid that I would kill that plant and squelch its life. 

And sure enough, the flowers wilted and withered and began to drop off...

And the roots began to look unhealthy, and started drying up...

And watching the plant die was sad... but what was worse was the realization that my orchid was a painfully accurate picture of my relationship with the man who had given it to me.  And no matter how hard I tried, I could never force love to bloom again.

A month went by... and one day my younger sister came up to me and said, "You should go look at your orchid."  So I did, and I found a tiny little shoot between the two leaves... my orchid still contained life!  And I watched that leaf grow and grow...

...and I watched a new stalk form and strengthen.  And then the buds appeared...

 And one day this glorious beauty sprang forth!

Life out of death.  Peace out of confusion.  Joy out of tears.

And just as the beauty of this orchid plant has been completely redefined by new growth, my relationship with the man has taken on new life and meaning as we begin again and allow God to replace confusion with His peace.  

I believe God allowed confusion and chaos for a reason so that in His perfect time He could redeem the situation back to Himself with His perfect peace that is beyond understanding.  

Join me in reveling in the peace of God!

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Never settle for less!