Last weekend I went out to our patio and found a fun surprise sprouting and blooming in the very narrow sand lines between the bricks. Interspersed intermittently all along the bricks were these tiny, tenacious pansies. I’m not really sure where they came from, but as I pulled the weeds last night, I left these little beauties.
Part of me wanted to know as I absorbed their beauty what had given the tiny plants a toehold in such a thin slice of sand. We aren’t talking good soil, but sand. And yet it was enough for these pansies to take hold and root.
Such tenacious, unexpected pops of beauty.
Isn’t that how life goes?
We might be in a season of hardship. On my blog last week I talked about how sometimes Mother’s Day can be hard. A day that is filled with joy for so many, is equally filled with pain for others.
If I hadn’t had hard Mother’s Days, I wonder if I would appreciate this smiling darling as much as I do. Her feisty spirit is a blessing and a challenge all rolled up in one 8 year old body. She made Mother’s Day special by being born the day before it a year after an excruciating Mother’s Day post-miscarriage.
Beauty that erupted in what felt like a barren period in my life.
A beauty that has been adored and annoyed by older siblings from the moment she arrived.
Isn’t life like that?
Sometimes the beauty that erupts is sweeter because of the pain we’ve experienced. Her two older siblings brought great delight to my heart, but this one…this is the child for whom I prayed…and wept…and want to tear my hair out…and there is immense beauty in that.
I look at her and I ask God, “What do You plan to do with this one? The one who is so stubborn she survived. The one who is so stubborn, I’m amazed I haven’t ground my teeth down to bits. The one who loves whole-heartedly and extends the hand of friendship with warmth and embraces all. What do You plan to do with this natural leader who doesn’t appreciate being led?”
And I sense beauty developing in unexpected places.
Night turns to day.
Winter to spring.
And in each there is beauty…sometimes completely unexpected. But it’s there.
And it’s in those moments that I ask God to open my eyes to the beauty and wonder He’s planted all around me. Whether it’s on my patio. Or in my family.
Beauty in unexpected places.
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Loved this post! It’s always a great reminder amid all the turmoil in the world today that God is still there, he loves us, and shows us in unexpected ways, like your flower showing up through the cracks!
My granddaughter was born six years ago on Mother’s Day, and I got to be in the room, so exciting! She’s really big into the American Girl dolls too. She and my daughter visited the store in Atlanta for a special weekend trip a year or so ago. That’s her plan this year instead of having a birthday party. Another trip and her birthday money goes to spending whatever she wants in the American Girl store.
I love that. We need to get up to the store in Chicago. It’s been years since we’ve done that.
Beautiful post, Cara. Those pansies are tough! Sounds like your little one is, too! She’s pushing through!
She’s an amazing little girl…though she seemed to mature overnight when she turned 8!
Amen!
🙂
Oh yes. You have touched on some wonderful examples. I would add after cold cloudy days the sunset last night with light piercing through newly leafing trees and dust motes floating in the light rays. God reveals himself in snippets of life and I love it when I get to see it. Obviously you do too.
Thanks for you post.
Thanks, Jen. I love the examples you added. We had a stunning sunset last night!
Thank you for the wonderful blog! I just wanted to say, my step-mom called those pansies “volunteers.” I guess they “volunteered” to make us happy! We could all take a lesson from pansies!
I love that! Volunteers to make us smile. 🙂
What a beautiful analogy!! Your 8 year old reminds me of my 7 year old granddaughter!! She is also a “natural born leader who doesn’t appreciate being led”. You are so right. There is beauty everywhere if we just take the time to stop and look around.
Those leaders can be a trial as a kid sometimes, but boy, I can’t wait to see how God uses her!
What a beautiful post! I read a book some years ago in which the gardener planted herbs among the patio bricks so that when people walked on the patio and crushed the herbs, they were surrounded by a lovely aroma. I had impatiens reappear one year so I found a garden stone that said, “Bloom where God plants you”, and I thought that was the perfect place to put it.
This was the anniversary of when my son was born the day before Mother’s Day (May 7) many years ago. I also have an 8 year old granddaughter who loves her American Girl dolls – our closest store is in D.C., but we’ve never been. Such wonderful personal connections through your post.
Blessings!
Betty, thanks so much! I love the idea of herbs in the cracks. There is beauty in brokenness, we just don’t like to look for it. Sounds like your granddaughter and my girl would have a lot in common — as well as a similar birthday with your son. Thanks for stopping by!