Hard Work And Beauty

Our neighbor grows roses. There are other flowers in his yard too... but his roses simply blow my mind. Every bloom is perfect and I never see them wither. He must maintain them regularly, but I never see him doing so. Maybe he works on them in the night while the rest of us are sleeping. The fruits of his labor are beautiful. I reap the benefits of what must be hard work every time I walk by.

Wouldn't it be great if everything we're just beautiful all the time... and we never had to see backstage where all the messy hard work happens? I think not. It is nice though to have some things perfect every time. For example; I like it when I first check into a hotel and the toilet paper in my room is folded just so. Somehow that little effort makes me feel like I'm the first one EVER to use it. I like not seeing the room get cleaned... but the truth is... somebody had to do it.

If something is nice. Somebody made it that way. I thank God for all the people who make things nice. When I witness things that happen naturally... like the beauty of nature or human kindness I thank God for that too.

It's the pruning back that makes good stuff happen, right? I can say that about nature and plants, about life and especially about me. I want to be more beautiful. So, God, whether you work in broad daylight or while I sleep. I'm yours. Prune away. Make me so beautiful that people wonder how I got that way.