Blooms In A Barrow

One of the great things about living in South East London, is having a myriad of different grocery shops to chose from, all within walking distance.

On route to my most regular choice of shop, I have the pleasure of walking through a small public garden – a lovely hidden gem, nestled in the middle of concrete pavements and busy traffic. I also walk through a couple of quiet, residential roads, with some pretty front gardens, which seem to be particularly abundant with colour this year.

One of them, in particular, always catches my eye! Standing proudly at the entrance to the property, is this wheelbarrow:

a barrow-full of surprises

Over the past few weeks I’ve watched the blooms inside this quirky container bud and flourish into an eye-catching display. Who knew a battered old wheelbarrow could become a thing of beauty? God’s glory can show up in some surprising places!

It inspired me, to scribble down these words in my notebook this morning:

Your new life within me,

Like blooms in a barrow,

Beauty for ashes,

And joy for my sorrow.

Redemption

The bible, from beginning to end, is a story of redemption – God delights in choosing the broken, the worthless, the foolish things of this world, in order to display His glory.

2 Corinthians 4:7 puts it this way:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

If you look closely at the wheelbarrow, you’d notice signs of its previous existence – the deeply ingrained scuffs and scratches, the splatters of cement or paint. It’s not perfect, but that doesn’t make it any less lovely. What once was filled with rubbish, weighed down by its heavy load, is now brimming over with joyful beauty and vibrant colour. What a picture of God’s gracious handiwork in our lives!

THE GREAT EXCHANGE

Our wonderful God is the great exchanger:

• Beauty for ashes
• the oil of joy for mourning
• a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness
• a robe of righteousness instead of filthy rags
• glory instead of shame
• perfect love instead of fear

The list just goes on and on. If you’re feeling worthless today, broken or weighed down with sin, then I have good news for you – you’re just the sort of person Jesus came to rescue! He doesn’t wait for you to ‘fix up’ before He adopts you into His family. The only thing you really need to be, is empty. Empty and willing to let a wise and loving Father transform your life into a testimony of redemption, all for His glory! Just like blooms in a barrow.