Hopeful Friday



Cielo From the beautiful The House In The Roses is hosting Hopeful Friday. At such a time as this, we can never have enough words about hope to keep us inspired. If you stop by Cielo's place you will find a link list. If you would like to participate, simply add your link. If you would like to feast on the hopeful words, visit all the wonderful blogs offering inspiration.



I was remembering when a while back I stood at the sink and emptied the vase of old water for my Gladiolus. Bright yellow flowers at the middle of the stem and buds with promises to bloom were placed in the sink.




Carefully removing the old dead blossoms from the bottom of the stem, I gave each stalk a new cut. I filled up the vase with fresh water and arranged the freshly cleaned stems in the vase.







As I had cleaned up the old flowers and stems and discarded them, I thought about how similar old hurts and worries are to those dead flowers. In order to feel hope in life, we need to be constantly letting go of our doubt and worry.




















If I had left the old flowers on each stem, perhaps the new buds would never have bloomed. The bouquet certainly would not have looked as healthy and vibrant as the flowers in the vase did at that moment. I saw the meaning in the exercise of arranging these lovely flowers.



Hope blooms when we stand in the moment in faith,
and look towards tomorrow, discarding our worries and doubt.



There is great reason this week for people all over the world to be concerned about the financial markets. Nearby people are recovering from a brutal storm that destroyed homes and lives. Three of my close friends are battling breast cancer. On my devotional, I wrote about the storms of life, and how we must have faith in the middle of the storm.

“He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves
and it was completely calm.”

Matthew 8:26


The song for this post is Imagine Me Without You. I think that Cielo's timing is impeccable, over the last few weeks we needed to be reminded of all words describing Hope. So, please stop by Cielo's and put some hope in your pockets.

My Watercolor called HOPE

I think that the color of hope is Pink, and many years ago I painted this painting that I call Hope. Speaking of Pink, Tomorrow is Pink Saturday and I have a special surprise, so do stop by and join in the fun.

Hope
Tamara Jansen said...

Thank you for your lovely message :)

Kathleen Grace said...

Karen, your analogy between the flowers and the things we need to discard from our lives is such an important thing to be reminded of! We need to constantly rid ourselves of the things we can no longer change but that hold us back from growing and blooming. Thank you for this great reminder:>)

MeMeMe said...

Happy hopeful Friday to you Karen! Thank you for sharing your insights today. I will think of this when i deadhead my mums.

I felt this way when i trimmed all my bushes one Friday night. Til 10:45 p.m. I wanted to get rid of all the negativity. I took it out on the plants!

This is why i love gardening so much. Jesus talks :) rather, I hear.

Anonymous said...

Karen, what an absolutely beautiful sentiment on hope today. You touched my heart. You are right. Cielo picked the perfect time to be positive and speak of promise and goodness. We need to think of our many blessings every day. Most of all we need to be happy and share it with others. It's catching!

Hugs, Jeanne

Virginia said...

I like the comparison of the flower with our daily life. It’s so true, we need to discards are worries or are past and bloom a new each day.
Blessings, Virginia

Marina Capano said...

Thank you for your nice message!

Marina

Skoots1moM said...

wonderful, thank you!
come see me anytime...

Anonymous said...

Bless you, Karen. You have given a perfect example to hope in such a lovely way.

My favorite quote is about hope, and I have it on my blog at all times. It would be a sad world without hope.

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Karen, Your Hope painting is beautiful and your words have so much meaning for me. I love how you saw this message in the refresh of your bouquet. I believe God sends us messages in the everyday little things we do each day in life. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. You are a very special and beautiful lady!!
Have a great Friday and looking forward to your Pink tomorrow.
Blessings,
Celestina
la rea rose

CIELO said...

Good morning sweet lady! And a happy "Hopful Friday" to you. Faith enables persons to be persons because it lets God be God.... have a wonderful weekend...

Hugs

cielo

Anonymous said...

Karen,
Yes, we need hope when we are going through the storms. When we are weak, we are strong with Jesus. I am glad I have Jesus as my Savior. Thanks you for your sweet uplifting comments. May the Lord be with you daily. Thanks for the uplifting words and encouragement. Katherinellen

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photo of your table! Wonderfully inspiring.
Brenda

Tara said...

Karen

what a wonderful post...a bit of a scary time in the U.S.!

:0)
Tara

P>S> Thanks for your comments about my post, I used to be an Erma Bombeck fan in college and had forgotten! She was super!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What a wonderful analogy. We have to think positive. We have to have hope. At times it is very hard, you feel alone. But you are not. There is always someone to reach out to. To help gather strenght.
Hugs,
Penny

Mya said...

What a beautiful thought provoking post. Thank you for your words of hope. Just perfect for on a fall friday.
-Mya

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