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| Smiling pansy. |
If you know anything at all about
me you know that I have a thing for bloomers.
This one is so inspiring it makes me want to be one too! Just look at its
happy little smile on fancy yellow cheeks! Makes me want to smile right back at
it! (Go ahead, you know you want to.) There, now wasn’t that fun?
Pansies are like that; they smile
right in the middle of winter when everyone else is locked up tight refusing to
show their bloomers. If I could give you a 360 degree view of this lone
bloomer, it is hanging from a tree (near the kitchen window) that has dropped
all its leaves, over a bed of grass that is grumbling about the temperature and
packing its leaves to go underground for a few months, and alongside some
Mexican petunias that shriveled at the first breeze of frost. Above, below and
all around this little basket are the faint of heart that gave up when winter
stepped foot into the yard.
While many think of pansies as
weaklings and use their name as an insult, I beg to differ. If I were to be
given a flower name “Rose” or “Violet” would be lovely. They have pretty
blossoms and delightful fragrances. But, I think I might just choose to be “Pansy.”
The kind of pansy like this little guy, blooming for all its worth right in the
middle of winter when everyone else has given up.
It can’t be easy. All the others
withered away for a reason. Winter is hard. It takes great courage and strength
to grow, much less bloom under such circumstances.
What does God expect from us in
hard times? First Thessalonians 5:11 – 26 was written to a group that was “mistreated”,
“suffering affliction,” “much tribulation”, and “amid much opposition.” They were told;
- Encourage one another.
- Build up one another.
- Live
in peace with one another.
- See that no one
repay with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one
another and for all men.
- Rejoice
always
- In
everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Greet
one another with a holy kiss.
Does it seem to you that this
little smiling face could be greeting us “with a holy kiss”? A smile from God, winter
is here – rejoice. It is hard –rejoice. God is at work – give thanks. Could it be that He is reminding us through a
dainty (but strong) flower that we are an encouragement to others when we give
thanks, rejoice and smile?
Look closely at the basket again.
Do you see it? There is a viola and another pansy trying to bloom right next to
him! AND, a sunflower coming up too! When we give praise, rejoice and stand
strong, it give others the courage and strength to do the same!
Courage is contagious.
Praise is contagious.
Smiles are contagious.
Which are you willing to share
today? Come on, be a pansy with me!
Father in heaven,
We see reminders of Your love for us in all creation. Thank You for
loving us before we even came to know You. Thank You for encouraging and sustaining
us through hard times. Give us strength and courage to rejoice and give You thanks
through it all. Let us be a smiling beacon of Your love to someone who needs it
today.
As always, I encourage you to leave comments below. Your words are not only an encouragement to me but to all who read them!
Blessings!
Find more stories of faith in
Oscar the Extraordinary Hummingbird
and Other Tales From Life In My Father's World
