FOODFORTHOUGHT

My mind is like a magnet for thoughts and ideas that would perhaps
be labeled "foolish" by many. Still, I find that world within me a
pleasant place to be.

I tip toe out into reality and never stay too long. There are parts
of it that I declare "foolish," too, and find no pleasure there.

From my favorite movie, "Harvey," comes a quote that is oh so
appropriate here. The character, Elwood P. Dowd says, "Well, I've
wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I
finally won out over it."

This might indeed explain what I stumbled upon recently while
playing there inside my mind.

It came about because I made an effort to stop and look at a flower
growing in my yard. It was always facing away from where I stood on
the deck. My wife had planted wildflower seeds in that area and I,
not believing they would grow, watched in amazement as they fought
off the dryness of this past summer. That previously empty garden
patch bloomed profusely in spite of my prediction.

"How sad, " I thought, "that those flowers have not been
appreciated."

So I made the effort to admire them.

One by one I held them in my hand and praised their intricate
details.

"How beautiful you are!" I said. Then letting go they would fall
back in place. In my mind, I thought for sure I could see them
holding their heads up even higher, perhaps responding to the kind
words of one who cared enough to notice.

Then this thought came dancing in. "To grow and not be selected for
a bouquet or live so brilliantly and go unnoticed…how sad the life
of an flower unseen!"

Just then I felt a warm breeze that carried with it a sweet floral
scent.

"Not true!" I argued with myself. "The fact that it ever was, the
perfection that exists in its ever coming to full growth, in itself
is a miracle.

Are unseen miracles useless?
Of course not.

Then why do we often times feel over looked? Why do we struggle
with the idea that we may very well be just like that flower unseen
and unappreciated.

Yes, you too, are a miracle and tended to by the Master Gardener who
looks at you daily, lifting your head up high and seeing in you the
beauty and magnificence of His creation. Still, you hang your head
low in the shadow of others.

Look up. Look up toward the sun. For it is there in the light that
you can see more clearly.

While all flowers do not make a bouquet, all humanity does. Each
one of us is a unique and one of a kind bloom hand selected and
placed just where they were needed. Just so they can add their own
beauty to the garden.

Rise up to expectations, stand tall and reach toward the sun. You
are not "a flower unseen," but precious flora in the Master's garden.


Bob Perks

Bob@BobPerks.com

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PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work. I give you my feet to go your way. I give you my eyes to see as you do. I give you my tongue to speak your words. I give you my mind that you may think in me. I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me, your Father, and all mankind. I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me." (Prayer from The Grail)

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