From the Flower Pot

USGN Article - September 2001

Terry & Barbi Franklin

Written by Barbi Franklin

            Who would have thought that a pot of flowers could talk?  Well mine did… loud and clear... upon our return from Kiev, Ukraine this summer.

            I hated to see my Impatiens die while overseas, so I brought this beautiful terracotta pot of blooming flowers and vines to my pastor’s wife right before departing for our summer missions outreach.  She said, “No, Barbi, I kill plants.”  And I said, “Just throw water on it every few days and it’ll be fine.”

            When I returned, I could not believe how beautiful and full my pot of flowers had become.  Sandy did a great job!  So I brought it home and placed it back on my front stoop.  Then I made sure to soak it well with a pitcher of water.

            A couple days later,  I came out front to check the pot, and the flowers looked healthy.  Since I was in a hurry and I figured the flowers could make it another day without more water, I opted not to water them that day.  Well I was wrong.

            Later that same day, the UPS man came, and I came to the front door only to see that my flowers, in just a few short hours, had shriveled up.  They looked dead.  I thought, “Oh No!  I killed my own flowers!  Here Sandy kept them alive, and I brought them home and killed them!”

            I panicked.  I ran inside to fill a pitcher with water and came outside to soak my shriveled up flowers, hoping that they would come back to life.  It was so amazing.  You could almost see those flowers drinking.  In about 30 minutes time, those flowers had been completely revived.  I mean petals and all.  The colors were just as vivid and healthy as they had been a few hours ago.

            At that moment, I could almost hear a voice coming from the flower pot.  It was as though God was speaking to me saying, “This is a picture of revival.  This is what will happen to my church when she comes back to drink from my river of life.”  Rivers, rain, fountains and streams are often used in the Bible as a symbol of the filling of God’s Spirit, His glory, and spiritual refreshing.  This is God’s passion for His bride.

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