Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? James 2:5 NIV
The lawn is a mess. Between the tufts of new growth are large bare patches under the tree where grass refuse to come up. After the rain, it is such a muddy mess that no one goes there.
But if you look carefully, in these bare spaces grow wild violets, joyfully lifting their faces toward the spring sun in purple and white beauty.
Sometimes I feel like those violets, planted in the shade in an ugly place, unnoticed and unappreciated.
But God the Gardener sees. He placed me exactly where I need to be to cheer, brighten, and bring joy.
Can I accept – and even delight in – apparent oblivion and continue to do my best? Am I willing to be a violet? Or do I insist on being a showy rose?
Yet there is peace and contentment in being just who I am, neither more nor less. Violets can go where roses never can. So if I’m a violet, I will be the best I can be. I will bloom, if just for the Gardener, who chose me for this time and place. After all, there are important lessons to learn here, too.
************************
P. S. Oh, look! In the Victorian Language of the Flowers, violets mean “Modesty, Faithfulness, Simplicity.” Who wouldn’t thoroughly delight in personifying that!