Flowers, Berries, and Tadpoles

A few years ago, I joined an internet social media site, kicking and screaming all the way. Well, perhaps not that extreme, but I put it off a long time while several urged me to join their cyber world. I didn’t believe I could spare another minute for additional interests. Plus, I had enough security questions to keep any help desk employee busy for several days. International university students we informally adopted into our family had worn me down.

Now, I officially have a multitude of friends. Some I see on a regular basis, and some I haven’t seen for years. And, I must admit, I love reconnecting with family, friends, and former students on social media. I also take advantage of the opportunity for ministry.

The Flower Connection

One cousin whose family spent two weeks with us every summer when we were children chose a flower bloom for her profile picture. I asked if she recalled the hours we spent picking flowers and blackberries as children. Of course, she did and added her memories of catching tadpoles in puddles.

Our selective memories temporarily deleted thorns on the berry vines, snakes in the weeds around the flowers and water, and some of the worst cases of poison ivy in history. Nor did we mention later family illnesses, disappointments, and death.

The inevitable difficulties of life surround us. They always have and always will. We live in this current world. Yet these recent memories offer additional reminders of God’s promises for a better day for those who choose joy and follow Him. “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

A New Creation

Here are a few of those reminders:

1. In God’s new creation, time won’t matter. Concerns about schedules and whether we can squeeze in another activity will disappear. With God, days, weeks, months, and years remain irrelevant, and we will enjoy reality in a new and complete way. “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4). We will spend all eternity praising God, never worrying about tracking time. “It is we who extol the Lord, both now and for evermore. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 115:18).
2. We will rest securely in the care of our all-knowing God. Although we know God remains in control today, our behavior sometimes speaks otherwise. In God’s new creation, we will have no doubt. “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
3. Issues of privacy, so common with the internet, will be irrelevant, as all threats will be abolished. Identity theft will be deleted from our vocabulary. Everyone in heaven will be our friend, and we will know one another as brothers and sisters in God’s holy family. “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).
4. We look forward to special reconnections. Even better, everyone will be on the same page with the same purpose. The fallout from differences of opinion — gone. Uncertainty if we measure up — gone. Attempts at one-upmanship — gone. Worries over what’s mine and what’s theirs — gone. Ethnic, racial, and other social differences — banished forever. How good is that? “And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
5. Hallelujah! No thorns, no weeds, and no poison ivy among the flowers of God’s blessings! None of the small or great irritations of this present life will raise an ugly head again. We will walk with our Lord in perpetual peace and joy with no concerns about what lies ahead or what’s happened in the past. “Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever” (Isaiah 55:13).
6. How exciting to realize that we will never have to face another virus, medical or virtual. No illnesses, no disappointments, nor death will ever again mar the landscape of our lives. “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Better than Flowers

We may not know the when and how of God’s new creation, but that’s okay. God does. The One who spoke our current world into being remains in control. We need never worry since we can rest assured that He will usher in the new and perfect world at the right time.  “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5).

Diana Derringer

Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems have been accepted more than 1,200 times by 70-plus publications, including several anthologies. In addition, Diana writes radio dramas and question-and-answer television programs for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, friendship family for international university students, and caregiver for her husband supply a constant flow of writing ideas. For a free copy of Diana’s “Words of Hope for Days That Hurt” and her weekly Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions, join her mailing list at https://dianaderringer.com.

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