Have you ever been surprised by something that unfolded over time? The surprise on my mind took 18 months. Back then, I was a frustrated shady patio container gardener. In 2023 I was lucky enough to be assigned a semi-sunny community garden plot. 

The beginning

When I first got the plot, it was in bad shape. Almost everything was dead brown or diseased. Near the front of the plot on the left, was a scraggly rose bush. It had yellow leaves, black spot fungi, and rust fungi all at once. I pulled out everything including the rose. Now my plot looked barren.

Hints of the pattern

I planted a few things in my cleared plot but I did not plant any roses. Even so, in the Spring of 2024, the rose I had removed sprouted! I tenderly put a support around it to mark this special happening.

The rose had a good start. I was disappointed when it became riddled with yellow leaves, black spot fungi, and rust fungi again. I tried Neem oil and Bio-Advanced 3:1 fungicide but they didn’t help. I felt mean and sad cutting off every diseased leaf and branch all year long.  

Needless to say, with so many setbacks, the rose bush didn’t bloom. In my frustration, I considered tearing it out again. But.

The surprise

I waited and tended. In January 2025 bountiful rose leaves unfolded a good deep healthy green. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In February, I had a yard of compost delivered to the plot for hygiene and health. The rose grew more good deep healthy leaves.

Then in March, suddenly, there were BUDS. Not just one or two, but over 100 buds!!!!!!!!!!!! You can see the bush in the left front of the above photo. I was shocked, bewildered, and delighted!

In April, a bud opened into the first flower I had seen on this plant. It was a deep velvet dark red. I was over the moon! A healthy blooming rose from scorched earth.

Key Lessons

While I don’t garden for personal epiphanies, God can and does use anything to speak my language. This whole experience of something from nothing reminds me of a verse:

God can do anything, you know– far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:20 MSG

From this resurrection, I learned a few things about who God is and how he works:

• When I think something is incredibly beyond dead, God can bring it back, just like my resurrection rose. It can return exceedingly abundantly more than I ask or imagine.
• When I see signs of unexpected growth, I must pay attention and see what happens.
• Losses prune things out and make room for new growth.

For You

In case you find it useful, here are some prompts to uncover movement in your life story.

• What are you considering dead and gone? Hold these things loosely before the God who can raise a valley of dry bones and His own Son. 
• What in your life is showing unexpected signs of growth? How can you notice these small beginnings, not despise them, and care for those signs of growth?
• What is blooming now that you never expected? How can you notice, appreciate, and bubble that up to the surface in praise?

Conclusion

There’s probably more pruning ahead for you and me both. And more flowering. After a list of attitudes that the apostle Paul exhorts Gentile believers in Philippi to do, he closes by saying, 

“Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:9 MSG 

I trust that whatever pruning comes, God will work you and me into His most excellent harmonies.