I believe I’ve written a few blogs by now explaining to y’all that God calls me His rose. I’ve seen visions starting out as a seed (me) deeply planted in the ground. After large amounts of rain, winds, and sunshine, roots begin to grow. Deeper and deeper they grow. So far down into the ground that I could no longer see them. Suddenly, a sprout shoots up, and from there it blooms. Growing taller and stronger than all the weeds and plants around it. The wind and rains come again and again but whatever has been growing wasn’t giving in to the power behind the wind and rain. I believed that whatever I was growing into was going to be a strong oak tree. Why? I’m not sure why. In my mind, I thought whatever I was growing into had to be strong enough that nothing could take me down. I thought… I thought, I was going to be this mighty strong oak tree. But I wasn’t. Suddenly, (in the vision) I erupted into this beautiful blood red rose. Not long after I had bloomed I was cut down with scissors. I had been moved and placed into a glass vase on a kitchen island table so that anyone who came into the kitchen could see the simple beauty that was ever so delicately placed there. I wasn’t an oak tree. I was a rose. I wasn’t made to be mighty, and strong. I was made to simply be admired, without striving to be this incredible masterpiece. God wanted to be mighty and strong for me so I didn’t have to be that, for myself.
Nearly 2 years has passed since I got that vision for the first time. I can still see it so clearly. All I have to do is close my eyes and play it over in my head. Each time I replay it, it becomes more beautiful and I become more thankful I wasn’t made to be an oak tree.
Yesterday, the whole squad and I were in Siem Reap for LDW (leadership development weekend). All of us were gathered in one of the hostel rooms to do worship together. It was the last song of worship when a vision flashed into my head and I lost all hearing in both of my ears. A vision of a small white flower, starting out as a small bud but shortly after getting a small glimpse of the bud it exploded into this beautiful white flower, as the flower bloomed I heard God say, “I’m purifying you”. Once God finished speaking the vision went away and I regained my hearing. Excited to get another vision, and knowing I’d have time to process what I had just seen and heard from the Lord, I went back to worshiping.
Here I am 15hrs later, processing in a coffee shop what my vision was and what it means. Fun fact, I’m not a flower girl. Never have been one and probably won’t ever be, but who knows… anyways what I mean to say is, I don’t know much about what flowers mean when it comes to the Christian faith. So, I looked it up. The color Red represents Christ’s sacrificial love for us. In my first vision, I’m a dark blood red rose which makes sense. God didn’t, and doesn’t want me to have to be mighty and strong for myself. That’s His job. He continues to sacrifice Himself for me daily. I am covered by the Blood of Christ. Literally! In the vision I got yesterday, I’m a 5-petalled white rose. We all know white equals purity, but what does it mean to be pure? For me, it means to be set aside, unlike the rest. To be different. To be whole. To be made new in a way that I could never go back to the way I used to be. The five petals represent the five wounds of Christ when he was crucified. Both of his hands, His feet and His side. Without Him being crucified there was no way the world would be made new. It was through His death that we were made new. Without his death, we wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to be made new, set aside from everyone else, made whole again. I’m not completely sure what all the Lord has in store for me next with this vision. I mean heck, I just figured out and learned more about my vision I got 2 years ago just today! Who knows what all God will bring to the surface with this new one.
What I do know is, God is my strength. My defender. My father who loves me unconditionally. The one who has healed my heart. The one who makes me new and purifies me. And the one who knew I didn’t need to be this grand oak tree, but a simple, delicate, beautiful rose.
-Chase
