This year when I planted my vegetable garden, I planted lots of zinnia seeds. I planted a couple of beds with only zinnias and then I added them randomly to the rest of the beds. I planted them because they attract pollinators and maybe more importantly, because they bring me joy.
Most mornings, when I pick the garden, I pick the flowers first. The vegetables may feed my body, but the flowers feed my soul. Their colors are so vibrant. Some are big and some are small, but they all serve as stunning evidence of God’s work and creativity in His creation.
One day last week, as I was having my morning coffee, I was feeling stressed. I had so many balls in the air and my mind was on a seemingly endless hamster wheel running in circles surrounding things I had no control over and couldn’t possibly fix. As I began to feel a bit overwhelmed, I said a silent prayer for peace.
Almost immediately, I felt a gentle nudge to “arrange the flowers.” I looked over at the jar of flowers I had picked from the garden the day before. I hadn’t had the time to do anything with them, so they just remained in the jar that I had placed them in when I picked them.
“Seriously?” I thought.
I had so much to consider and solve, plus, I had to be somewhere that morning and I was supposed to arrange flowers?
Now, I have been walking with Jesus for too long, to ignore a nudge from the Holy Spirit, so as mundane and trivial as it seemed at the moment, I complied.
Not surprisingly, I felt a peace almost immediately, as I examined and trimmed the first perfectly amazing stem. A couple Bible verses popped into my head: 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!” Luke 12:27-28
When I looked up the verses, in Luke 12, the entire passage is a reminder for us not to worry. Jesus uses the beauty of flowers as part of His illustration of God’s love for His creation and His people and He used the same illustration for me, standing in my kitchen that morning.
I would love to tell you that I never worried again, from that moment forward, but that wouldn’t be true. What I can say is that when I prayed for some peace in a current situation and got quiet and listened, Jesus found a way to use something special to me to remind me that I am loved and He will provide as He always has. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂