Purple Pansies
It was the bleak of winter and we were living in the middle of nowhere Illinois. My mother was visiting and she had grown quite comfortable on our couch reading my three children story after story after story. At one point, my oldest requested that my mother read her our new favorite picture book—a lovely parable about St. Therese as a small but mighty saint.
In the story, the Gardener visits with the smallest of the flowers in His garden—the pansy. The pansy laments that she will never be as beautiful as the other flowers in the garden. She wants to be noticed by those who visit the garden, but as she sees it, she is too small to be noticed. As you can guess, the Gardener assures her that she is lovely and an equally important part of His garden, despite her littleness, and most importantly, that He not only notices her, but He can’t imagine the garden without her. Our family loves this book. It is a reminder that each of us is an unrepeatable expression of God’s love, no matter how great or small, how lovely or plain we have estimated ourselves to be.
A few days after reading the story, we decided to brave the cold by going for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. As I set my sights on the front door, my daughter stopped at the foot of the oak tree in our front yard. “Momma, come look at the flowers!” she yelled to me from across the yard.
Flowers? In the middle of winter? I was doubtful. As I returned to where she was standing, I blinked in surprise. I knelt to get a closer look. There at the foot of the tree were three delicate purple pansies.
I called my mother over, and she confirmed that they were indeed pansies. All three of us girls smiled in delight at these pretty purple flowers, the ones we hadn’t planted.
Ever since this day, I’ve pondered the meaning of these three little pansies. I have no doubt that there were three, one for each of my children. In some ways, this sign seems now like a foreshadowing of the care God would pour down over my children during my first battle with mental illness, but of course, I can’t say for certain.
What I do know is that this little sign from heaven was a timely reminder of God’s love. A reminder that something so little could be so lovely and so delightful to discover. Perhaps this moment was planned simply as a way to make us smile. To give us a reason to pause and give thanks that the God who created the universe cares enough to send us flowers.
In the story, the Gardener visits with the smallest of the flowers in His garden—the pansy. The pansy laments that she will never be as beautiful as the other flowers in the garden. She wants to be noticed by those who visit the garden, but as she sees it, she is too small to be noticed. As you can guess, the Gardener assures her that she is lovely and an equally important part of His garden, despite her littleness, and most importantly, that He not only notices her, but He can’t imagine the garden without her. Our family loves this book. It is a reminder that each of us is an unrepeatable expression of God’s love, no matter how great or small, how lovely or plain we have estimated ourselves to be.
A few days after reading the story, we decided to brave the cold by going for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. As I set my sights on the front door, my daughter stopped at the foot of the oak tree in our front yard. “Momma, come look at the flowers!” she yelled to me from across the yard.
Flowers? In the middle of winter? I was doubtful. As I returned to where she was standing, I blinked in surprise. I knelt to get a closer look. There at the foot of the tree were three delicate purple pansies.
I called my mother over, and she confirmed that they were indeed pansies. All three of us girls smiled in delight at these pretty purple flowers, the ones we hadn’t planted.
Ever since this day, I’ve pondered the meaning of these three little pansies. I have no doubt that there were three, one for each of my children. In some ways, this sign seems now like a foreshadowing of the care God would pour down over my children during my first battle with mental illness, but of course, I can’t say for certain.
What I do know is that this little sign from heaven was a timely reminder of God’s love. A reminder that something so little could be so lovely and so delightful to discover. Perhaps this moment was planned simply as a way to make us smile. To give us a reason to pause and give thanks that the God who created the universe cares enough to send us flowers.
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