On my walk over from the parsonage to the church this past Sunday morning, a few bright white flowers blooming along the gray rocks in the front yard caught my eye. I went over and snapped a couple photos of them. I didn’t know what kind of flowers they were, but thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I can look them up on my phone. It identified them as “Ipomoea Pandurata,” a perennial vine also known as “Wild Potato Vine,” “Manroot,” or my favorite nickname, “Man of the Earth.”

Apparently, this flowering vine likes to grow in rocky soil and rough places. Its heart-shaped flowers open up overnight, close in the midday sun, but stay open longer in cloudy conditions.

This flower gives me hope that sometimes, something brilliant and beautiful can bloom and come to life, even in the rocky soil, the rough places, and the dry or dead spots of our lives. It reminds me that sometimes the brightest flowers come out in the deep darkness of night, and they keep their hearts open in the cloudiest of days.

I was on my way over to the church last Sunday to preach a sermon about the fruit of the Spirit of “faithfulness,” but I was given a sermon in the soil, a glorious reminder of God’s faithfulness toward us, even in the dark times and the rocky parts.