Rock Flowers

This past summer my sister, my dad and I did a four day hiking trip to Tweedsmuir Park to hike the Rainbow Mountain Range. We grew up in this area as children and would often go hiking with my dad on multiday adventures even at the young age of three and five. It was so special to revisit this area forty years later. Not much had changed really except that time had given me an incredible appreciation for the beauty and the tranquility of the mountains. As little kids, all we wanted to know was when we were going to get to the top so we could play in the snow patches using our garbabe bags as sleds. Now, I noticed every little detail--the sounds of the birds, the wind, the water and the tiny intricate flowers growing out of the rocks. I have always loved moss campion more than any other flower. The tiny flowers, insignificant when looked at individually, form an intense, stunning pink when they are all clumped together amidst the rich green moss. They grow out of the tiny crevices of the rock, with very little soil or nutrients. They come up against harsh winds and unbearable winters, yet they thrive in spite of what comes up against them.

As my friend Katherine and I were driving to Lethbridge for my author interview last month, she would read me funny or meaningful stories from books to help make the long drive more exciting. As we were traveling over the Roger's Pass she was reading stories out of the devotional Streams in the Desert. She asked Jesus what month and day he wanted to highlight to me. As soon as she asked the question I thought, he wants to share November 23rd with me. Almost simultaneously she said, "I think he wants to share Novemeber 23rd with you." I almost drove off the road in surprise. She started reading about rock flowers, pink rock flowers to be specific. She read about how they thrive against all odds and how God has a special place in his heart for his rock flowers, the ones who have come up against unbearable circumstances. Their beauty comes from what they have endured. I became very emotional and touched by God's heart for his wounded ones who keep blooming and bearing colourful flowers when life has bruised and hurt them. The devotional ended with this poem:

Heroes are forged on anvils hot with pain,

And splendid courage comes but with the test.

Some natures ripen and some natures bloom

Only on blood-wet soil, some souls prove great

Only in moments dark with death or doom.

God finds his best soldiers on the mountain of affliction.