Blessings

When I was a child, our family attended a church with (what seemed to me) an amazing number of "old people". I was young and of course anyone over the age of 30 seemed "old". Each Sunday morning, as we entered the building, one gentleman in particular would always greet my sister and me and give us each a piece of candy. It really wasn't much, but it was something we looked forward to every Sunday.

For me, and I imagine my sister as well, each piece of candy was like a piece of good fortune. It wasn't something we earned. It was a gift. It was a small miracle. It was a blessing.

Blessings abound all around us. As we age, those blessings sometimes become less discernable. Sometimes it is because we hurry through our lives without stopping to notice the myriad of good things that occur each day. Other times we are unaware of the blessings in our lives because our ability to identify a blessing has become somewhat distorted.

We have simply forgotten what defines a blessing.

I wonder if I started looking harder if I could see more blessings....

Flower Blessings

I mentioned a few days ago about going to my youngest daughter's class and teaching the children about plants, flowering bulbs and such. What I didn't mention was how I obtained the flower bulbs that each of the children planted that day.

While driving around our town, I noticed a few places that had muscari (grape hyacinths) blooming in large patches. They are such pretty, dainty flowers. In one location, I saw thousands of these adorable flowers and noticed that the property was for sale. I pulled over and called the number. When the fellow at the other end of the line answered, I told him I was sadly not interested in buying the property, but that I was hoping to dig some of the flowers that were growing there.

I love to scavenge, especially plants - and even more so if they might be getting bulldozed due to new developments. What a great way to add to your plant collection for only a bit of labor. Most of the time I get permission without any questions asked. Sometimes I have to do some convincing. :) Only once was I told a definite "no" and that was due to liability concerns.

All of the flower bulbs the children planted in their peat pots were dug from this one property. I had enough to plant some in my own yard, give some to a neighbor and offer a nice amount to the classroom teacher, too.

Close to thirty people blessed because one man said "yes" to a simple request.

How many blessings can you provide to others by simply saying "yes" when asked?

~Carla