Daily Prayers for Grieving Hearts: A 21-Day Plan for Comfort on the Road to RecoverySample

FLOWERS IN THE DESERT

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. ISAIAH 35:1–2 NIV

It’s both encouraging and inspiring to know that even desert land contains seeds of life underneath all the colorless landscape we see with the naked eye. That is the greatness of our God, who, in His time, produces sprouts of new growth, new color, and new hope from a dormant heart. The crocus flower is small and low to the ground, but it’s mighty enough to push forth through the final layers of winter snow, producing signs of life we would otherwise not even know existed—but it does. It may be a life of a different hue and form, but life it is, waiting to be noticed and received simply for what it is. While our lives—our stories—may take us into the depths, His resurrecting power will bring us back into a new joy if only we will see it and embrace it as our own. His joy is what makes us complete and able to begin again, one day at a time, and it’s ours for the taking.

Father, thank You for the seeds of life and joy You have planted in my heart. Help them to grow and find their way into view so I can follow Your lead out of the depths and into new pastures where I can move forward. I am grateful for Your timing and Your gentle ways of painting new landscapes filled with color for me to enjoy. Help me to see that each new sign of life You put into my day is of You, and it’s okay for me to walk in it.

IN YOUR HEAVENLY GRACE, I PRAY. AMEN.