As I am winding down from a long, stressful couple weeks full of deadlines, finals, projects, papers, and more, I can’t help but come home and feel extremely blessed. When you come home to a family with open arms ready to embrace you, a boyfriend ready to give you a huge hug because you made it through winter quarter, and friends awaiting you to go on the next adventure, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed with love. I had come across a quote a couple of weeks that I nonchalantly wrote in my journal because it “looked pretty”. Little did I realize how much truth this quote would hold for me as the weeks ahead ending winter quarter progressed; neither did I realize how much this quote would apply to every aspect of our everyday lives.

“No rain, no flowers” is the quote that I so prettily lettered mindlessly against a bright watercolor background I had previously scrapped yet pulled out of the scrap pile for the background of this quote. I liked the quote because it was simple, easy to letter, and pretty. I half understood the truth of this quote, once again not picking it for any real purpose, only for my own shallow aesthetics.

Throughout dead week and finals all I could think about was being home with the people I loved and that I knew truly cared about me. I was so close to the finish line, I just needed a few extra bursts of energy to get me through the next hard weeks. When I finally made it through what seemed like hell and back, I was welcomed warmly by my family, friends, and boyfriend. It was the best feeling, knowing that I worked my little butt off to cross that finish line that seemed so unattainable in the moment. It felt good to know that I tried my best, and even though I fell many times, I ultimately made it.

As I was flipping through my journal at home, I once again came across that quote that I had lettered that read “No rain, no flowers” and I realized how much that applied to my past weeks that were full of finals, and how much it applied to our lives here on earth. While I was at school I was enduring the “rain” of finals, and when I came home I was granted the “flowers” being my family and friends. Yet, having to go through finals made seeing my family and friends all the sweeter, and it made me even more grateful.

I believe that this applies to everyone also. We go through the “rain” of life, struggling, stumbling, and working our way towards the ultimate gift. This ultimate gift will be better than anything we will have ever received or experienced. The flowers that will come at the end of all this rain will be a joyous reunion with our friends, family, and most importantly, Jesus. Even though we stumble and lose our footing along the way, Jesus would never turn us away. Just as my family and friends opened their arms to me, embracing me and exclaiming how glad they are that I am home, Jesus will do the same to all his children. He will embrace us, tell us he loves us, and exclaim how happy he is that we are home. He will congratulate us on running the good race, fighting the good fight.

In the end, even though there is rain now, we must not forget the flowers that this rain will ultimately bring. These flowers will be sweeter than anything we have ever smelled, because they will be flowers from fields in heaven.