The Rose Blossoming in the Father’s Love

Artist and writer, Diane Bailey, posted a painting on Instagram of a woman with angel’s wings, holding a red rose. The descriptor read:

“The Soul of a Woman – and when she believed she was loved, she began to bloom.”

When I read this, I instantly remembered a promise the Lord had given me when I was a youthful missionary.

While walking through a forest in the Netherlands, I envisioned a red rose blossoming as these words drifted through my mind: I will blossom you into a woman of God—wrought by many thorns, watered by your tears. 

He promised His nature would form in me like a rose, opening to reveal beauty and fragrance.

Yet it wasn’t until I read Diane’s words that I made the connection between the rose blossoming and my believing I was loved by my Heavenly Father. 

“The Rose” is my tribute to that promise.

The thorns came, the tears flowed, devastating losses tore my heart apart.

And yet, in the midst of the pain, “…the beauty of the Lord exudes from the wounding,” as my dear friend, Roberta Smith, expressed upon seeing the painting.

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