Restoring beauty from our brokenness.
(Writing from June 8, 2025 / Photo taken on June 10, 2025)
Walking into my first floral arrangement class, I had no idea what to expect. In fact, “not sure what to expect” has become my new normal. Moving 3,000 miles away from my hometown in the east coast suburbs to a small town where the redwoods meet the Pacific Ocean has been quite the adventure.
When my instructor looked at one of the flowers in my arrangement, she asked if she could pluck it out and “edit” it. Intrigued, I told her to work her magic— I was curious what “editing” a flower meant. She plucked out a Honeymoon Rose (sourced from her friend’s garden) and proceeded to turn it upside down and gently peeled away the dead, warped petals clinging to its base.
This was a perfect metaphor for my current faith walk. In this season, I’ve felt God plucking out certain dead spots in “My Unruly Garden”, examining them, and then removing the sections that are no longer breathing life into my “arrangement”.
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”
John 15:1-2 NLT
The instructor points to the Poppy Anemones—What about these? Perplexed, I couldn’t see what she meant. I hand selected those flowers. Sensing my confusion, she clarified—this one is thriving but this other one is missing some petals. Did you want to pluck it out and replace it with a fuller flower?
I looked at it, smiled and said “No, I’m going to keep it. I appreciate its flaws. It adds a true character to the arrangement. After all, isn’t that reflective of the wild variety of nature?” She smiled and said she loved this.
In my rewilding season, I can see how God is orchestrating everything for my good. My past includes the good, the bad, and the ugly of human nature. As He continues to rewild my heart, restoring it to align with His will for my life, I can see how He has used the missing petals to purify and strengthen me.
Nature doesn’t pluck out a flower when a few petals get damaged. It remains firmly planted. Those missing petals tell its story. We don’t need to hide our flaws. They’re part of our character, our resiliency, and our overall beauty.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Romans 8:28 NLT
As I was arranging, I meditated on why my soul was drawn to that flower. I didn’t see its flaws. Even when she pointed them out, I couldn’t see it for anything but what it was—beautiful, vibrant, unique. The truth is I have always been drawn to the organic, the wild, the authentic.
Somewhere along the lines, I let the world tell me I had to paint over the flaws. During this flower arranging class, I celebrated this moment, because I knew she was back—my authentic self wasn’t hiding anymore because I saw that flower the way God sees me. And the way God sees you. His wonderfully complex, beautifully-broken creation.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”
Psalms 139:13-14 NLT
There was a season the world conditioned over those parts of me, but I feel the Lord restoring me. Our surroundings mirror our life. And that flower is a metaphor for how I’ve felt in my deeper-level healing this past year, as we’ve uprooted a lot as I continue to heal in “My Unruly Garden.”
Surrendering and submitting to God’s will feels a lot like the gardening process. We pull out a ton of weeds, plant new seeds, and cultivate the thriving native plants that were there all along. Rolling up my sleeves and digging deep to uproot the invasive species left some residual damage that the Lord is faithfully restoring in His timing.
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT
Some petals did fall off in this season. Those were the relationships and patterns that were not healthy or authentically aligned. And after navigating the unhealthy relationships and patterns of my past, I do have some warped petals, but they are a reminder of the resiliency that was built. While “My Unruly Garden” may look like a bit of a mess at the moment, the rewilding process always does, I know God’s work in my life right now is preparing the soil of my heart for new growth in this next season.
Is the edited flower beautiful? Of course. But is that flawed Poppy Anemone way more beautifully complex? Absolutely. Those missing and warped petals tell its beautifully-broken story. It’s been through some storms, yet it was still chosen and valued for its true character, its heart that doesn’t always appear on the surface.
“. . . The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””
1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
I will always hold space for the flaws and mistakes of my past because God used them to craft a unique perspective and a deeper well of empathy so I can see through the flaws to the true character and beauty of the flower. And the reason I can see flawed humans through the same lens.
This entire arrangement — It’s a little wild. It didn’t follow all the rules. But it’s honest. It was carefully curated from my soul. And that beautifully-broken Poppy Anemone was my favorite part of the entire bouquet.
Devotional prompt:
What petals in your life —flawed, missing or warped—tell your story? How have those very imperfections shaped your beauty, resilience, and character? Where might God be editing your arrangement, not to make you perfect, but to reveal the wild beauty beneath?