Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? – Matthew 6:27-30

It seems like my eye has been drawn to the flowers this week. It makes sense, with the messy weather we’ve had, constant wind and rain, bringing down leaves and pine straw and small branches, leaving the garden appearing littered and unkempt. The flowers – especially the rambling Brown-eyed Susans – stand out as perfect splashes of form and color against the disarray.

I love the way these flowers take off on their own, appearing in unexpected places, peeking out from behind a bench, emerging between other plants who have gone to seed, or gathering in a joyful congregation under the fence.

These flowers spread life and enthusiasm without regard to the strict protocols of garden planning, the setbacks of dry weather, or the problems of too much rain. They just bloom in the places where light splashes in, they absorb it, and then they share it without holding back.

They remind me of my granddaughter, Beks, and her mother – our daughter – Naomi. Free, unpredictable, charged with life, always coloring outside the lines, not just reflecting the light but creating it too.

This is my simple devotional thought today. Our opportunity is to bloom, to shine, and to shed light. And, if that is too much for us at any given time, then we must gather with people who can – so that we will be encouraged and maybe catch some of that Gospel Good News.

Because of the Good News and the Gospel of Love – DEREK

granddaughter Beks