Flowers

We've had a few days of what actually seems to be Spring weather. On Saturday the kids and I were outside cleaning up the yard, and I felt it was time for some flowers. It makes me sad that we won't have a vegetable garden this year, and I wasn't planning on any flowers either, since I am not sure how much longer we will be in our house. 

But something about the weather and that drab, unwelcoming stone porch of ours changed my mind. We have a quaint and very inexpensive little nursery a couple blocks away, so I thought, "Hey, why not?" Ellis kept Davey for me while I piled Mac and Corrie in the car and headed over to the Springtime Nursery. 

I enjoyed sharing the experience of getting new flowers with Mac and Corrie. I asked them each to pick out a few flowers, and it was sweet to see the different flowers they picked according to their own personalities and preferences. Mac picked flowers I would have never chosen, full of dramatic shapes and colors. Corrie picked softer, gentler looking varieties. 

We got home and the kids helped me carry them all out to the porch. They decided to arrange them for me...all in a bunch in front of the door. 

A little bit later we got to work on the little flower bed next to the porch. It did not take long for quite a transformation to take place!

We also have a few small pots of pansies on our front porch, along with a pot of strawberries and a small blueberry bush that is starting to bud. It isn't much, compared to what we had in the past, but it is lovely to me. 

I sat outside yesterday morning before the kids were up, and it was wonderful to look at the flowers and see the sun peeking over the mountains as the bird sang. I have also realized how much I enjoy the simple task of watering flowers. It feels good, and when I see the flowers, I think of my children. 

This makes me think of the bigger picture of our life right now. As we sit in our season of waiting to find out where we will live and what we will do next, I continue to be comforted by the truth that God knows what is best for us.

Our situation may look different than what we hoped for or wanted, but I know that if we are trusting Him, God will help us to see that He has given us something lovely.

"Faith says not, 'I see that is good for me, God must have sent it,' but 'God sent it, and so it must be good for me.'" -Phillip Brooks