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Friday, May 13, 2016

Wildflowers And Pain

I'm weary. 

My thoughts were to come back to this blog with eloquent words that might encourage you, but how does one encourage another when they've had a difficult week? Perhaps encouragement comes when we can willingly admit that we are discouraged, that some weeks don't always consist of daffodils and tulips, (my favorite flowers) and that sometimes spring results in burning eyes and a stuffy nose amidst its graceful beauty. 

Yesterday evening, I noticed that Irises had bloomed in our backyard, and in true childlike fashion, I went outside to admire them. Spring brings out the inner child in me, the little girl who walked the dirt road in search of wildflowers to give to mom. I wanted her to appreciate those flowers that I picked while admiring beauty around me. I noticed every detail, every bud bursting forth, every delicate dogwood flower, every goldfinch singing in trees, and the lone Monarch searching for summer Milkweed. 

When I reached home, I hid the weeds behind my back, and told mom to close her eyes. Handing them to her, she opened her eyes, smiled and thanked me, and then insisted on placing them in a vase to display on the kitchen table. She placed them in the kitchen, the room where she spent much of her time, and made comments over how beautiful they were. 

She found beauty in those many vases of wildflowers, the very same wildflowers that caused her sneezing fits and watery eyes. As a kid, I didn't realize she was reacting to those flowers, and she never would have admitted it to me. She embraced the discouraging allergy because she saw the beauty of her little girl lovingly bringing her the most precious gift she had to offer. 

So here's to embracing the discouragement faced within the week without letting it define who I am. Here's to hoping for beauty to come from the pain. Here's to a mom who constantly puts herself last, who embraces the discouraging moments, fully knowing that throwing the weeds away would be so much easier, and yet chooses otherwise, and chooses to define those same weeds as flowers. 

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