This may sound strange to some, but I recently struggled alongside a friend who was having difficulty conceiving. She and her husband had anticipated children since the early stages of their relationship. However, her age and medical history made it a troublesome ordeal.

"Grace Under Pressure" Pink Roses Bouquet

It’s hard to watch a close friend go through something like that. I wanted to help her so we would stay up late talking and praying about the situation. One day she called me in tears because the stress finally became overwhelming. I racked my brain for some way to console her when it finally hit me.

I called up June, my local florist, and discussed an arrangement specifically for my friend. I relied on my guide of flower meanings (I use the FSN flower meanings reference) and found the perfect flowers to express what I wanted to say to her but couldn’t.

Though some of these were out of season, I discussed many flowers with my florist including apple blossom, azalea, peony, Queen Anne’s lace, pink roses, Star of Bethlehem, stephanotis, pink tulips, violets, and yarrow.

I chose apple blossom because it means “promise” and through many nights of prayer we were reminded of the Biblical story of Abraham and Sarah who also struggled with bearing a child. They were promised abundance and were blessed so I wanted apple blossom for encouragement. Azalea means “abundance” so this also seemed fitting of the promise.

I chose the rest of the flowers based on their significance in her life, particularly her struggle with medical issues and a need for peace of mind. The flower meanings of the rest discussed with June are:

• Peony “Healing”
• Queen Anne’s Lace “Delicate Femininity”
• Pink Roses “Friendship”
• Star of Bethlehem “Hope”
• Stephanotis “Good Luck”
• Pink Tulips “Caring”
• Violets (specifically blue violets)  “Faithfulness”
• Yarrow “Good Health”

And a year later a child arrived…

The flower bouquet had raised her spirits so much that I decided to send a new baby bouquet when her son was born. I again turned to the flower meanings guide and consulted my local florist, June, about using these flowers: [Read more…]