Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, April 27, 2025
We’re going to need new carpeting. Ooof. Sounds like big decisions, big effort, and big money to me! However, being a homeowner means you at least get to choose your carpet’s type and color.
I well remember the carpet in the first of the five homes we’ve rented; it was a bold blue. We didn’t have much furniture at the time, but none of what we did have played well with that carpet.
Years later, a friend who was in the midst of buying and furnishing a large new home for her growing family commented that they would definitely choose a carpet color other than “renters’ beige.” She had never seen our renters’ blue!
My favorite carpets appear annually, and I can’t resist pausing several times on our daily walks to document them. They bring me such delight. My photo above gives you one glimpse.
I think of these carpets as “strewn petals,” as if some little flower girl has walked through our neighborhood, practicing for her role in an upcoming wedding.
And yes, this reminds me of Jesus:
They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
(Matthew 21:7-11 NIV)
Jesus entered Jerusalem as King, and within a week the crowds cried out, “Crucify Him!” He staggered, bruised and bleeding, under the weight of His death cross – no cloaks and branches carpeted His path to Calvary.
But that was not the end. Christians throughout the world have recently celebrated the triumphant truth of His resurrection. We look forward more and more to the day He returns to take us to our true home.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (I Peter 5:4)
I picture one more carpet, gold and glittering. When Jesus gives us crowns of glory, I believe our reflex action will be to cast them down at His feet, knowing He alone is worthy of wearing such a crown. All the glory belongs to Him, and our carpet of crowns will declare that golden truth.
As we step out into this brand-new week, whatever carpets may cushion your feet, remember that someday we will walk on streets of gold. Until that day, He walks beside us, all the way Home.