Saturday, March 15, 2025
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. ~ Romans 8:18-19
Written by Dr. Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler | Director of Ministries in Music & Arts / Organist
Growing up, I remember my parents having a beautiful garden with plants, trees and vegetables on the outskirts of our hometown. One spring, a late winter frost damaged the young growing plants. Some of the most tender plants my parents had nurtured from seeds lay wilted and broken, their leaves blackened by the unexpected cold. For weeks, they carefully tended to what remained, though many suggested they simply should have started over. They watered, pruned, provided shelter and fertilized the seemingly lifeless plants and waited with hope.
“These plants still have life in them,” they told me when I asked why they did it. “They just need time to reveal their strength.”
By late spring, that patience and faith bore fruit. Where damaged stems once lay, new growth had emerged. The garden flourished beyond my expectations, producing a harvest that seemed even more precious because of the waiting.
Like those frost-bitten plants, we too experience seasons of struggle and apparent defeat. But Romans 8:18-19 reminds us that our present difficulties – however painful – are temporary. Just as creation eagerly awaits its renewal, our current trials are merely the prelude to something far more glorious. Our suffering isn’t the end of the story; it’s the preparation for God’s revelation of glory in and through us.
Prayer: Lord, help us maintain steadfast faith during our seasons of waiting, knowing that you are working to reveal your glory in ways we cannot yet imagine. Amen.