Last week, I wandered down the pebbled paths at a local plant nursery, stepping over puddles, searching for just the right color and blooms. One of the men who worked there walked over to ask if I needed help, and I told him that I was looking for just the right thing to hang in a shady spot at home - something bright and colorful, something that would spill over the edges of the basket as it grew.
"I'd really like a basket of dark purple petunias if I can find them. You know - that really dark, rich purple."
"Hmmm..." he said, and wandered down the path ahead of me.
"Like these!" I reached up to touch a basket hanging just above my head.
"Oh!" he said. "I haven't even seen those. I'm here every day, and I walk up and down these rows all day long. But I never really look at the flowers. I didn't even realize how pretty those were."
How many times have I done the same thing? How many times have I walked past the brilliant color, the delicate artistry, the intricate wonder all around me, without ever really looking so I could SEE?
How many times have I missed the gifts that God has placed right in my path because I was too busy to pay attention, too distracted to appreciate, too self-absorbed to see?
I say with Bartimaeus - that blind man of Jericho of whom Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" - with Bartimaeus, I say, "Rabbi, I want to see!"
The gifts that just keep coming . . .
1070 thunder
1071 hard rain
1072 heavy clouds
1073 former students returning to invest in students now
1074 good news coming from far away
1075 sun bursting through clouds after a long night of rain
1076 crockpot cooking
1077 beef stew on a rainy day
1078 coconut macaroons
1079 waking up to sunshine
1080 shadows on concrete
1081 bluebonnets bursting into bloom
1082 the song of the night bird singing loudly
1083 making it safely through the fog
1084 the quiet of fog hanging low over fields
1085 8 goals and 4 assists
1086 dinner with Gram & Grandad, home from their trip overseas
1087 that fun mug they brought home to me
1088 lunch with my mom and my boy-child
1089 firstborn's first training meeting for her mission trip
1090 dinner with my little family after the musical
1091 impromptu coffee date with a friend
1092 Venus, Jupiter, and that sliver of the moon blazing in a clear night sky
1093 butter melting on hot biscuits
1094 apricot preserves
1095 Swiss chocolate from Switzerland from our favorite Swiss family friends
1096 studying James
1097 that olivewood camel on my desk and how it reminds me . . .
1098 local honey drizzled thick on bread
1099 date honey from Israel dripping heavy on plates
1100 petunias by the front door
1101 verbena spilling from the pot on our front walk
1102 pebble paths
1103 row after row of flowers at the nursery: petunias, impatiens, geraniums, verbena, daisies
1104 pouring over Scripture with a dear friend and mentor
1105 husband making it back from the airport to have dinner with the kids and me
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"I'd really like a basket of dark purple petunias if I can find them. You know - that really dark, rich purple."
"Hmmm..." he said, and wandered down the path ahead of me.
"Like these!" I reached up to touch a basket hanging just above my head.
"Oh!" he said. "I haven't even seen those. I'm here every day, and I walk up and down these rows all day long. But I never really look at the flowers. I didn't even realize how pretty those were."
How many times have I done the same thing? How many times have I walked past the brilliant color, the delicate artistry, the intricate wonder all around me, without ever really looking so I could SEE?
How many times have I missed the gifts that God has placed right in my path because I was too busy to pay attention, too distracted to appreciate, too self-absorbed to see?
I say with Bartimaeus - that blind man of Jericho of whom Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" - with Bartimaeus, I say, "Rabbi, I want to see!"
The gifts that just keep coming . . .
1070 thunder
1071 hard rain
1072 heavy clouds
1073 former students returning to invest in students now
1074 good news coming from far away
1075 sun bursting through clouds after a long night of rain
1076 crockpot cooking
1077 beef stew on a rainy day
1078 coconut macaroons
1079 waking up to sunshine
1080 shadows on concrete
1081 bluebonnets bursting into bloom
1082 the song of the night bird singing loudly
1083 making it safely through the fog
1084 the quiet of fog hanging low over fields
1085 8 goals and 4 assists
1086 dinner with Gram & Grandad, home from their trip overseas
1087 that fun mug they brought home to me
1088 lunch with my mom and my boy-child
1089 firstborn's first training meeting for her mission trip
1090 dinner with my little family after the musical
1091 impromptu coffee date with a friend
1092 Venus, Jupiter, and that sliver of the moon blazing in a clear night sky
1093 butter melting on hot biscuits
1094 apricot preserves
1095 Swiss chocolate from Switzerland from our favorite Swiss family friends
1096 studying James
1097 that olivewood camel on my desk and how it reminds me . . .
1098 local honey drizzled thick on bread
1099 date honey from Israel dripping heavy on plates
1100 petunias by the front door
1101 verbena spilling from the pot on our front walk
1102 pebble paths
1103 row after row of flowers at the nursery: petunias, impatiens, geraniums, verbena, daisies
1104 pouring over Scripture with a dear friend and mentor
1105 husband making it back from the airport to have dinner with the kids and me
