God is with Us

When you look at a dogwood bloom, what do you see?

As I was taking a walk and praying, I kept watch for a hawk. A hawk often flies across my path when I’m deep into a conversation with God. It’s simply happened way too many times for me to discount it as a coincidence. I have a dear friend that said when she was going through a time of struggle when raising her kids, God sent her Carolina Wrens to sing to her. She told me that her family thought she was crazy, but I knew that it was truth.

But, today God didn’t send a hawk. Today, as I was walking and praying and asking God to show Himself, I looked down and there, among the weeds on the side of the road, were the purple blooms of a viola. I first saw one and then as I walked, there they were interspersed in the overgrowth. There’s no way a person planted them. But, nature had some how put them there.

I smiled as I continued to pray and thanked Him for the beauty among the overgrown chaos. I was reminded that there’s always beauty within chaos. In our darkest times, there’s always grace. There’s a friend who stands by us or an unexpected call from someone we haven’t heard from in a while. There’s a meal that shows up on our doorstep or an unexpected card or check in the mail. Sometimes a new friendship begins in those dark times.

To the Christian who actively seeks the face of God, He is everywhere. To the non-believer, He is nowhere. There are so many things in our lives that can be chalked up to mere coincidences, but faith teaches us a different way. Faith teaches us that God created all of the animals, so He could certainly send a hawk across my path or wrens to my friend’s window. He can make things grow where they really shouldn’t be growing.

God’s way of showing His love for us is infinite. We are the ones who seek to limit its scope with our own preconceived notions and misconceptions.

As my walk came to an end, I came across a dogwood tree. Legend has it that Jesus was crucified on a dogwood tree. They used to grow huge like oaks. Because the trees were distressed at being used for such a cruel purpose, Jesus promised they would never again be large and strong enough to construct a cross.The blooms are in the shape of a cross, with two long petals and two short ones, and the ends are tinged red for Christ’s blood.

While it’s not likely that the legend is true; every spring around Easter, they serve as a beautiful reminder of God’s love for us and Jesus’ sacrifice. God could have made those trees look anyway He pleased. The believer sees a cross.

As we draw ever closer to Easter and the glory of the resurrection, I would love to encourage you to get outside and bask in Creation. Look for God in our world and remember that not only did He create the beauty around us, He is still with us. Just take a look.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂