Sunday, September 23, 2012

The black thumb and the bright gift

I like giving myself crap for being such a terrible plant caretaker. I've killed bamboo. Plants shrivel in my presence. All of our bushes surrounding our house have bare spots as if brontosauruses have taken bites out of them. It's shameful. This year I didn't even bother buying flowers. Adding the hottest summer on record to my distaste for the plant watering process just didn't seem like a winning combination. But every day I look out on my back patio to the vacant pots and I can't help but feel frustrated with myself.
The perfect place for tumbleweeds

Perhaps with a little more effort and care I could have a beautiful garden. I admire beautiful gardens and the people who tend to them. I can't bring myself to unreel the hose, I'm so plant lazy. But I absolutely love flowers. I see them as a gift from God and a gorgeous example of the miracle of life. I think about the magic that lives within the precise second that a seed begins its journey into planthood. And just recently, God gave me a pretty neat little gift:
The Godflower
I didn't plant that, but it sprouted last week in my flower pot on the patio. I've never planted a perennial like that, so there's no explanation for the fact that this sweet beauty decided to bless me with its presence. I don't have to water it. It just keeps growing. I don't deserve it, but it was given to me. I like that God brings to life what I can't in order to remind me that His design is a gift.

1 comment:

  1. I am about 800 years behind on reading your blog but I am loving reading a whole bunch at once! This is a moss rose, I am like 99% sure it is an annual (ok I looked on wiki, it is an annual!) so it really shouldn't be growing- truly a blessing from God! And you DO deserve it my friend!

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