Summer is here and it seems like all my plants have decided to bloom at once, resulting in such a multitude of flowers that it’s hard to take in all the beauty. My daughter has been cutting mass amounts of blossoms and bringing them inside. They now take up most of the dining room table. It’s a little embarrassing to see the cluster of bouquets spread out before me. It reminds me of someone who puts their wealth into jewels and then wears them all at once. I am uncomfortable with such opulence.
Just a few short weeks ago I needed a pick-me-up and I went outside to cut some flowers. Summer was just beginning and there were precious few blooms to choose from.
So, I cut flowers that were still green and unopened. Then, I added clover heads that had gone to seed (not exactly bouquet material). Next, I cut forget-me-nots that only had a few flowers still clinging on the stems. I scavenged from my mint and sage plants and threw in a few weeds for good measure. Some old grocery store flowers finished things up.
I had to laugh at the bouquet in my hand. It was scraggly and weird.
These two bouquets seem to represent my life. Sometimes, I struggle to find any beauty in my surroundings and at other times life explodes in riotous splendor all around me.
I was proud of my raggedy bouquet, for I had found beauty in the midst of bleak surroundings and I chose to see beauty where others might see weeds. I cherished buds that hadn’t bloomed yet, seeing the hope of flowers that would come later.
I must admit that the almost garish display of the bouquets that came from overabundance gave me pause. It just seemed wrong to have so much all at once. I found myself frantically trying to find a way to give some away. The gluttony of my display felt wrong.
The lean times will come again. They always do. I will try to remember the multitude of flowers that once covered my table. More importantly, I will once again look for beauty in the dark places. And, I will find it, because I have learned that beauty is everywhere, even when you have to look a bit harder to find it.
“To everything there is a season, …” (Read Ecclesiastes 1: 1-8)
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