Wild Flowering

Wildflowers

“In a way nobody sees a flower really, it is so small, we haven’t the time---and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
Georgia O’Keeffe

Wild flowers are blooming in the allies where I walk my dogs—red clover, wild strawberries, sweet peas, violets, pinks, and periwinkle. I walk along and think about how beautiful they are, but mostly I don’t stop to study them. My dogs are always in a hurry to get to the next suitably sniff-worthy thing, and it’s not a flower, trust me. I tell myself that someday I will walk alone so I can study the wildflowers. We should take time to look at flowers. But time is so limited these days.

Do you ever think about how silly that notion is—that there’s simply no time to do the things we want to do because of all the things we have to do? It’s just silly. We have plenty of time—twenty-four hours every day, to be exact. And all of us have exactly the same amount of time. We choose how we spend it. We prioritize and wild flowers lose out. Sometimes even our friends lose out. Why is that?

I’ve always been fascinated with the way wildflowers can pop up from a crack in the sidewalk. Recently, I was driving across a viaduct over the railroad tracks downtown and saw a perfectly healthy yellow daisy blooming from a crack in the middle of the road! Cars were flying over it, but it stood proud, like it belonged there. There are delicate pinks growing from the storm gutters in my neighborhoods. They call out, ‘Stop! Look at me! I bring a splash of beauty into your day.” That’s what we miss when we don’t take time to see the wildflowers—wild, unplanned beauty.

On your way to work today pay attention to the wildflowers you pass. Say hello to them. Thank them for beautifying your way. That’s God’s grace in its greenest form.

In the spirit,
Jane