Flowers

 

FLOWERS

'Tis the season for flowers and more flowers!  The poet Ralph Waldo said, "The earth laughs in flowers."  The beautiful blossoms in the picture above grew in the garden of the Stan Hywet house in Dayton, Ohio. God is a master artist in His marvelous creations!

These extravagant looking mounds of flowers covered Japanese Cherry trees in the garden of the Taiwanese Pagoda in Norfolk, Virginia, in April. The Japanese celebrate the arrival of the cherry blossom each year with a festival known as Sakura Matsuri. I celebrate the fact that God created beautiful, colorful flowers in the first place!  What a blessing He gave to us all!

These lovely golden orange day lilies were growing in Williamsburg, Virginia, a few weeks ago.  Sadly, they are long-gone because they only last for one day.  Their blossom opens in the morning and droops by nightfall.  They are a perfect illustration of the verse in Isaiah, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever," 40:8.

Jumping for joy in a lovely garden - I love it!!  "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing," Isaiah 35:1-2.  Not only are these blossoms beautiful and abundant, but my sweet granddaughter Noelle goes through life with joy and a song in her heart each and every day.  Thank you, O Lord, for such blessings!!

The Mimosa tree is adorned with silky, feathery pink flowers in the summer.  These blossoms look like exotic pink fans waving in the breeze.  They always remind me of my granddaughter Marisa, who  spotted the flowers with me when she was little.  Jesus told His disciples to consider the flowers - "they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these," Luke 12:27

"He has made everything beautiful in its time..." Ecclesiastes 3:11.  This delicate pink flower is part of the Mandevilla vine.  The genus was first described in 1840 and named for British diplomat, Henry Mandevilla, who was also an avid gardener.  My mother had a green thumb and each summer grew lush Mandevilla vines that climbed her fence and were loaded with these tropical beauties.

       The Song of Solomon is describing the Lord, with the verse, "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys," 2:1.  I like the famous old saying about how important it is for us to 'stop and smell the roses' along our pathway in life. Not only is it a pleasant way to live, it is also healthier for mind, body and soul.  It goes along with another of my favorite phrases "carpe diem," Latin for "seize the day," a quote taken from Roman poet Horace's Odes, written over 2,000 years ago.

     Here's another cool quote, "A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it, it just blooms," from Zin Shin.  

     Stopping to appreciate the wonder and beauty of a flower -- and it's Maker -- will bless your heart in a myriad of ways.

 Final photo of me smelling the roses was taken a few years ago at the Ringling Mansion in Sarasota, Florida.