“Poppies”

Psalm 103: 15-15 (NABRE)

“As for man, his days are like the grass; he blossoms like a flower in the field. A wind sweeps over it and it is gone; its place knows it no more.”

I remember many times in the Monastery spotting a flower growing in some of the strangest places! Crocuses, lilies, tulips, and many which I don’t know the names for, they were everywhere! I would stop and look at them, and allow myself to be delighted by their extravagant beauty! I remember contemplating what it must have been like as God created these little things. They are so small, plentiful, and senselessly beautiful! I think that God takes great joy in making beautiful things such as flowers, just because they are beautiful…and I think he does not make them just for himself, but for us too, his children. Each one is so different from all other flowers, and even within each type of flower, they are all individuals with their tiny differences. God is so prolific in his creativity! I don’t think there was any reason that he had to create such things as flowers to be as beautiful as they are, except that it made him happy, and he knew it would make us happy too.

But flowers have something to teach us too. Just as the verse suggests. Their life is brief, they grow, they bloom, then they fade and eventually die. All living things do. And yet, God who has paid such close attention to each and every flower or blade of grass pays so much more attention to his children whom he loves more than anything else.

Life does go fast. Even more so the older you get. I remember as a child thinking that days and weeks passed so slowly as I looked forward to the next big thing. But as an adult, the years fly by in a blink even if hours sometimes drag by. But even now, only in my 30s, I look forward to eternity, aware that I have no idea how much longer my life will be. But even if I should die of old age, it is likely to come faster and faster. What am I doing with that time? Have I tried to love God and my neighbor as I’ve been commanded to do? Have I sought happiness in the things of God or in the things of the world? The flowers seem to know who God is and they obediently follow his will for them. One can almost equate their blooming with a joyful response to Gods love in the light, water, and soil that give them life and they open thier blooms toward God and bring both him, and us, great joy.