I recently heard a song called “Flowers” on a Christian radio station, and it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard. The music in it is amazing, but so are the lyrics. Samantha Ebert finds the balance between raw honesty and genuine hope. It almost feels like she wrote “Flowers” just for me—and maybe you’ll feel the same way after you listen to it.
Searching for Sunshine
Well, blue skies and hillsides feel so far away
And I wrote in my notebook that I’ve seen better days
Than the ones as of late
I can’t bear the weight
The rain won’t stop pouring out my windowpane
And I haven’t left my bedroom in 76 days
I wish something would change
’Cause I’m losing faith
As a sidenote, I highly recommend you listen to the Samantha-Ebert-Featuring-Seph-Schlueter version of this song (which is linked at the end of the post) because their voices blend so well together. I actually got to hear a snippet of Samantha talking about “Flowers” and what inspired her to write it. She mentioned her struggle with chronic pain, which she hints at in the first verse included above.
Though not everyone struggles with chronic pain, everyone does struggle with something. Perhaps you can relate to feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and hopeless in your struggle. I certainly can. Like Samantha, I’ve wished things would change about my circumstances. But I love that she pours out her heart to God instead of turning her back on Him—and He answers her prayers.
Grounded in God’s Goodness
So I brought it up in a desperate prayer
Lord, why are you keeping me here?
Then He said to me, “Child, I’m planting seeds
I’m a good God and I have a good plan
So trust that I’m holding a watering can
And someday you’ll see that flowers grow in the valley”
Samantha doesn’t pretend that the hard things in her life magically become easy after she lifts them up in prayer. But through prayer, God reminds her why He’s allowing them to be part of her life. Even though she doesn’t know what He’s doing through her chronic pain, she can trust that His plan is good because He is good.
I’ve been in the valley of singleness for many years, and I’ve wondered the same exact thing Samantha wonders: “Lord, why are You keeping me here?” In my finiteness, I can only see the seemingly barren valley. But God can see the seeds that are taking root beneath the ground.
Cultivating Contentment
When I’m on the mountain and looking down below
I’ll see a valley of flowers that needed time to grow
And I’ll thank you for the rain
The hurt and days of pain
And I’ll bring it up in a grateful prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for keeping me there
You know just what I need, and you’ve planted seeds
’Cause you’re a good God with a real good plan
And you hold my world and a watering can
So I can have peace ’cause flowers grow in the valley
The final verse and chorus in “Flowers” are what really stuck with me. They’re so convicting yet so comforting. Samantha describes her experience finally getting to see the flowers God has been growing in the hard season of her life. She expresses her gratitude to Him for working through her chronic pain, acknowledging that it does have a purpose. I believe—and I’m sure Samantha would agree—that God uses the experiences that make us feel weak to strengthen us. For that reason, we can have peace.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)
Lyrics are from YouTube.
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