Living Outside The Lines: Blooms In The Burn Pile

By, Becky J Miller

Sometimes the most profound truths choose to shine their enlightenment upon us in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways. Seemingly ordinary occurrences may lead to amazing discoveries. Allow me to lead you along the path to one such occurrence.

Roses, though beautiful in full bloom, require much care. Six large rose bushes lined the sidewalk leading to the front door of a house in which we once lived. The bushes had a tendency to grow over the sidewalk, posing a threat to innocent passers-by. The thorny branches, devoid of any beauty, were cut off from the rest of the blooms and tossed into the burn pile.

The branches appeared dead and lifeless, but as time passed, blooms began to appear. Wait, blooms? Blooms from dead branches, branches disconnected from their life source. How could that be? What was their origin? 

Blooms or not, the burn pile was set on fire. After the fire died down, the blooms remained. Remarkably, the discarded branches had taken root and grown about six inches into the ground. They must have missed the memo about their lives being over. 

Something about these roses was obviously different. How could they bloom without any care or nurturing? They had none of the advantages the other roses still attached to the bush had. These roses were thrown away, cut off from the rest of their kind, considered worthless, and yet they bloomed!!

These roses were determined, in spite of their circumstances, to grow. These roses did not care that they were plucked out of their normal environment and put in a place where they were not supposed to flourish. They obviously were not done living!!! They were going to prevail despite circumstances dictating they surely would not.

Are Flowers blooming in a burn pile? What a beautiful parallel to the potential we have to overcome in the midst of seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Just because the world seems to have left you for dead, there is still hope.

Next time life seems hopeless remember those roses in the burn pile, and bloom, bloom, bloom!

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”