The Perennial Plant

“Perennials are plants that die back to the ground in fall or winter but regrow from their roots each spring, enduring harsh seasons and returning year after year.”

From the lifeless dust of the earth, He grants me
breath.
Breaking past the suffocating mass of dark and dirt,
I arise.
Unfurling towards vibrant, radiant possibility,
my hands extend.
Basking in the glory and serenity of Creation,
I praise and rejoice.

Then winter comes.
Like a thief in the night, a new storm arrives.
Thunder and cold infuse my soul,
lightning and rain rattle my bones.

I know life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows.
I was prepared, or at least I thought I was.
But sometimes it’s just a little too much.
Sometimes I forget sunshine and rainbows ever existed,
lose hope they’ll ever return.
And I just want everything to
stop.

But
suffering is easy;
gratitude is harder.
So scarred and battered,
broken and bruised,
I’ll remain standing
Defiant
Triumphant
Reliant.

Should the drought wilt my leaves, I shall grow anew.
What?
Should the whole earth tremble, I shall remain rooted.
How?
Should the storm bend the stalks, I shall still fight.
Why?

Because
He is the Creator, the Shepherd, the Gardener
and He is with me.
For even as winter winds dissolve memories of summer days,
even as the night somehow becomes darker than before,
His steadfastness never fails to make itself known.
In brilliant radiance I see:
sorrow that softened my heart,
loneliness that urged gratitude,
pain that changed my views,
toil that inspired another.
As a vine relies on the skyward arbor
I do not stand tall—I am lifted high.

For I am the plant that will return again and again!
I am the plant beloved by the Gardener!
For through thunder and cold, lighting and rain,
the sun has never failed to reappear.
And as surely as glorious dawn is to come,
I will return!