One of the last planes to leave Paris before the Nazi invasion carried Francis Meilland’s most precious rose cutting. All he could do was hope it would survive. Four years passed before he learned what had happened to it. A rose grower in Pennsylvania had developed it into an exquisite rose with petals of cameo ivory and palest cream, tipped with a tinge of pink. Later, on the very day Berlin fell to the allies, a ceremony was held in California and white doves were released to celebrate the fact that one fragile rose had survived the most dreadful conflict in human history. And they named it “Peace.”
Its survival reminds me of Jesus’ promise to all who trust in him, “In the world you will have trouble, but in me you’ll always have peace.”