The Divine Gardener

"The heart that is watered by the tears of the Heart of Jesus will by its sweet fragrance enrapture the Church on earth and in heaven. The Divine Master gathers the flowers of His garden reserved for Him alone. All for You, Lord, the flowers and the fruit!"

I found this quote on an image with pressed flowers and it really spoke to me. We don't often see trials and sufferings as flowers and fruit, usually more like thorns and thistles. Even for us Eeyore's out there, he says, "weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." I like the idea that our life is a garden, a garden that is cultivated by His sufferings and we are given a chance to share in that, to collect the tears of Jesus. 

And why? The fruit. The fruit of our suffering may not even be for us, but for the Church. Perhaps this is as an example to those in our life (the Church militant), or to alleviate the Poor Souls (the Church suffering), or to connect us in a deeper way with the saints who went before us (the Church triumphant). Having very specific intentions helps us in our suffering. It gives us a passion, a desire, a direction to channel whatever it is we are going through, and maybe that gives a sense of meaning to ease the burden a bit.

Our garden throughout life will have flowers, weeds, plants that probably need water, plants that died, plants that have only just been put in the soil. As long as we don't give up on our garden and keep planting seeds, who knows what beautiful things will grow in our life, despite (or maybe even because of) the weeds.