No, it is not yours to open buds into blossom.
Shake the bud, strike it,
it is beyond your power to make it blossom.
Your touch soils it.
You tear its petals to pieces
and strew them in the dust,
But no colors appear and no perfume.
Oh, it is not for you to open the bud into blossom.
He who can open the bud does it so simply.
He gives it a glance and the life sap stirs through its veins.
At his breath the flower spreads its wings
and flutters in the wind.
Colors flash out like heart longing,
the perfume betrays a sweet secret.
He who can open the bud does it so simply.
"Love may drive out fear, but some of us have to take John's challenge (1 John 4:18) from the other direction first. We have to stop being afraid first to be able to make room for love. We can tell another person of our love easily enough. But if we harbor fears at the back of our minds--"Does he really love me? How could he?" or "If I love her, will she really return that love, or will she eventually betray me?"--we are holding back. We're cautious, yes, and perhaps that is sometimes wise. After all, who wants to be hurt? But can love flourish if hemmed in by doubts and fears? No.
I think it's the same with our love for God. Loving faith--handing our lives over to God in complete trust--can't happen when we hold back something out of fear...
Lord Jesus, I put my fears and controls aside today and open my heart to you in trust...
The Best Is Yet To Come...
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