A Word of Encouragement

I’ve got a lovely fake flower arrangement in my living room. They are of proteas, such a magnificent and unusual flower which I just love. I got them arranged in a special, fancy vase I got for my 30th birthday, with some great fake greenery alongside them. I’m pleased with how they turned out, and being fake, they never lose their colour, they use no water, and they create no mess.

However, this week a friend of mine gave me a bunch of real proteas. A great gift for me, she knew they are one of my favourite flowers. The pink is gorgeous, the soft texture of the petals mesmerizing, the intricate yet dense insides of the flower itself inimitable, and the deep green leaves that both conceal and at the same time makes the flowers ‘pop’ add to its excellence. I love it all! And as I’ve been enjoying this gift, smiling every time I stop to admire them, it has been to me also an important life reminder: real is always better than fake. Yes, real is costlier, for real means I do need to water and care for them.  Yes, real is riskier, for there will be some mess and losses and even goodbyes along the way. But stood alongside my fake arrangement, I know which one I would choose everyday if I could only stick with one. It’s no contest: Real is always better.

It’s a truth not simply for flowers, but for us in life as well. We often feel like we need to hide parts of ourselves away, presenting only the version of ourselves we think other people want us to be. We can so easily fall into the trap of always looking like we have everything together, always looking like we are strong, we need no help, we have no needs. But that’s the fake us not the real us, for the truth is we are all limited, all needy and all messy all at once. And yet, in our realness – priceless. 

The good life can only be lived when we don’t hide ourselves from others, and when we don’t try to hide ourselves from God. We do fall into this trap all too easily too; it’s been a default setting in our playbook since the very earliest chapters of our story. But there are many verses in the Bible that remind us hiding ourselves from God is a useless exercise. There’s nowhere God can’t see, and nowhere that he can’t find us! This should free us to know we can be real with him whatever it is we are facing, for he knows it already and still invites us to do life honestly with him.

Real is always better, in flowers and in life. Dare to be real with one another this term and see what wonderful blessings come of it!

Rev Karen Reid

Chaplain