The Rose...

It has been FULL of surprises...

Some more costly than other.

It goes without saying that a 100 year old house needs...

Extra love...

Special attention.

And...

An abundance of time.

What I didn't realize was how having a home this old...

Would minister to my heart.

When putting a potty in for the smalls.

The plumbers found an unexpected barrier.

In my eyes it was a gift.

Buried deep in Faith's house was a well.

Had we picked any other spot for "necessities" we would have never known.

Never seen.

Faith's House...

A home of deep, deep waters.

Layers of watering...

Wells buried...

Cistern at its side.

My spirit leapt.

Only Papa would know how much this would bless.

And, though to our plumber friends...

This was an irritation...

And a cost to pass on.

It was another hidden treasure for me.

Revealing...

What stories before mine had deposited deep.

Life-giving water...

So that in due time...

Color might burst forth...

Shining on songs of intense brokenness.

Reminding the growing...

When the season of sorrow returns...

To believe...

He is always busy at work...

In the darkest... dirtiest places...

Forming wellsprings of Hope. 

We are clipping and celebrating blooms today...

Enjoying the mystery of the hidden.

Delighting in what He has placed in our hands...

Wondering with hunger...

How He might use me to bless in the depths...

So that stories coming after...

May behold the same joy.