fading flower; enduring words

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever"

Isaiah 40:8

How truthful these words. Minutes ago, I "pruned" my flowers I bought last week from a locals farmer's market. My bouquets were filled with hydrangeas, dahlias, babies breath, and a purple flower I do not know the name of. They were beautiful in the vases and seemed to endure for the first five days. Soon, however, they began to lose their strength and began to bend beneath the weight of their petals. My dahlias began to droop and my hydrangeas started shriveling up. I eventually needed to remove the dying flowers and separate them from the longer-lasting babies breath and unnamed purple flowers. 

 I took a short walk on a nearby trail yesterday, attempting to practice some basic photography lessons I learned from photography blogs. The above photo was taken after many failed attempts to explore apertures and fading backgrounds, but as I look at it now, the faded and withering grass in the background is also what reminded me of the above verse. Without the refreshing Pacific Northwest rain showers that our soil is accustomed to, the once vibrantly green lush grass becomes withered and pitiful by midsummer. 

But how reassuring and comforting that the faithfulness, love, and promises of God remain forever. They do no dry out or need to be replaced by something better or more current. 

God is the same and does not fail us. He endures even when all else fails us.

He will not fail, nor mock, nor disappoint you;

His comfort and care change not with the years;

With oil of joy He surely will anoint you,

And wipe away your tears

{J. Danson Smith}