Water-lily of Mercy

When I prayed the words of the prophet Hosea for forgiveness and mercy, I was stopped by the words:

"It will blossom like a lily." (Hosea 14)

I expected to see a lily. But the Lord showed me a water lily. At first I did not understand why. After all, a water lily grows out of mud — a place associated with what is difficult, wounded and unlovely. And then God quietly touched my heart.

This is what a human life looks like.

Each person carries their own story — experiences, suffering, wounds, sin, all that sometimes seems an unbearable burden. But God looks deeper. Because the beauty of the water lily is not decided by the mud. It is decided by its roots. Roots immersed in water from which it continually draws life. For me that water is Jesus Christ — the Source of Living Water. It is in Him that a person puts down roots. It is He who heals, forgives and gives new life. The deeper we are rooted in His love, the less what surrounds us determines who we are. The water lily slowly pushes through the surface of the water and opens towards the light. The sun's rays remind me of the Father's tender gaze — His grace, love and presence. They warm the heart and make it blossom. And then a miracle happens. From a place that seemed full of mud beauty springs forth. Not because there was never any mud. But because Love proved greater than it. This is how forgiveness works. God does not erase our history. He gives it a new meaning. What was a place of pain becomes a place of grace. What seemed like failure becomes a testimony to His mercy. Perhaps your life bears the marks of wounds that no one sees. Perhaps there are moments in it you would most gladly forget. But if you allow your roots to take hold in Christ, your story will no longer tell of what hurt you. It will begin to tell of the One who lifted you up. And then, looking at you, people will not primarily see a person who has walked through the mud. They will see God, who can cause even amid muddy waters the most beautiful flower to blossom. For where a person roots themselves in Christ, the reign of the past ends. And a new life begins.