Little Purple Flowers
The bunch of purple flowers appeared out of nowhere—or so it seemed. The warmth of summer was waning and the dust kicking up from the gravel road was a reminder of last week’s hot temps. My mood matched the overcast skies as I made my way down the road and now on the return trip— there they were.
Several plants were huddled together in full bloom waving in the wind as I passed. Greens were turning to brown this time of the year but someone had forgotten to tell the little purple flowers that it was too dry, too late in the season, and the nights too cold for them to be out and about.
Not knowing any better, they continued to bloom where they’d been planted—brightening pathways.
“For such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) the flowers were made to carry out what it was they were created to do. Wave, bloom, brighten, bring color, and bring a smile of reprieve from an otherwise very ordinary walk down the gravel road. The periwinkle purple petals along with the yellow button centers made them stand out all the more.
The rest of the walk went by quickly as the day brightener helped place a bounce in each step. I couldn’t help but note the lack of little purple flowers along the rest of the road as my eyes searched within the ditches on either side. A moment gifted helped carry the day and I couldn’t help but wonder. What kind of little purple flowers might we be planting along pathways traveled? As I made my way up the front porch, there before me was a dumped geranium. Kitty likes to drink water from the vase and by the looks of it—it had been bumped. The plant was bottoms up.
Its red petals were on the ground, the stem straight up, while the roots flopped helterskelter.
Apparently the cats had quenched their thirst alright—at the expense of my geranium. Hoping to salvage it for a few more weeks, I marveled at the ability for a plant to survive such dire circumstances. It needed a little boost in order to keep on living.
Perhaps a pick-me-up is what we all need from time to time. It might be an unexpected wave. It might come in the form of filling the reservoirs of others or having others fill ours when ours run a little dry. It might be that we need merely have someone help us reposition our outlook on the circumstances before us like a spiritual chiropractor of sorts.
Psalm 23:1-3 gently reminds. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.”
And I ask: What kind of little purple flowers am I planting along life’s pathways? What kind of toppled geraniums am I on the lookout for? And then I ask. Why? What’s the purpose of any of this? Quietly it comes. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40). Amen.
