Flowers paint our world with color and beauty, splashing joy and happiness wherever they bloom. They illustrate God’s messages to us. They impart petals of wisdom, reveal new insights, and portray vivid metaphors of our own lives.
Flowers tell stories to all who take time to notice and listen.
When my daughter and son-in-law bought flowers from a local nursery to give me for Mother’s Day this May, the owner threw in a small climbing flower for free because it wasn’t doing very well.
I had fun planting the brilliant red and pink geraniums they gave me in attractive pots and decorating my deck and front porch with the array of flowers.
I carefully transplanted the “throw away” flower in a jumbo pot with its small wooden horseshoe-shaped stake, telling it to bloom and grow in its new home. Before long, I noticed that it had started to grow. Realizing that it needed something stronger for support, I added a tall trellis behind the plant, wrapping some of its vines around it, coaxing it to take hold. Little by little, its thin vines began to inch around and upward, climbing the trellis, and its tiny, dainty yellow and white flowers began to pop out all over, smiling happily. Now, nearing the middle of August, this once frail, wind-blown “give-away” has become a flourishing Black- eyed Susan, having ascended three fourths of the way to the top of the trellis, with its eyes on the prize of making it all the way to the top!
The Black-eyed Susan’s story and message:
Don’t give up on yourself or on others who are struggling, weak, sick, lost, wind-blown, tired or worn out, etc. who the world may see as useless throw-aways. See your/their potential, envision who God created; speak encouragement, believe, support with a “big pot and tall trellis”, and watch for growth, applauding and cheering until the goal is finally reached. Know that with God’s help, you can become all He created you to be.
“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.” - Gerard De Nevval
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” - Audrey Hepburn