As I sat in the garden reflecting on my life, a penetrating coldness surged within my soul. Had my life become as cold and barren as the continual snow drifts billowing past me?

With despairing thoughts I could not dispel, I suddenly noticed a perfect red rose slowly emerging from the snow.

How pure, simple, and beautiful to the eye. What a precious gift from heaven. Against all odds, it provided hope...

A true miracle...that something so beautiful could be blooming in such a barren place...

At that moment, I could feel the presence of my Lord, like a warm blanket covering the coldness which had previously penetrated my soul. How pure, simple, and beautiful his love was that he was giving to me, never failing in his perseverance for trying to reach me, never giving up on me, even though so many others had...

As with the beauty of the perfect red rose, I envisioned the beauty of his perfect red sacrifice as he gazed upon me with loving eyes as he lay on the cross. The sacrifice he made was the ultimate expression of his love, never asking for anything in return but our love and belief. In his sacrifice, he provided hope for all to experience...the indescribable joy of spending eternity with him in a magnitude of beauty and love for which the world could not guarantee.

As my soul was filled with the presence of my Lord, I reached down with a smile to capture...

The beauty of a red rose emerged in the snow...

(It never ceases to amaze me how the painful trials we must endure as we are refined continually inspire others....what an amazing God we have)