The sky canvas was so beautiful this morning. Father Sky chose a pale blue pastel and colored the late morning sky a robin’s egg blue, decorated the heavens with white bridal veil clouds, thin and sparse, stretched out in a formation resembling white long neck geese migrating through the sky. Late afternoon as the sun stepped on the low horizon Mother Nature gathered her watercolors, picked up her brushes and painted the skyline the color of a ripe Georgia peach. As the sun stepped on the sunset pageant’s stage, Mother Nature stroked shades of golden honey across the juncture where the horizon and skyline join hands. The sun was escorted down the horizon on the arm of Father Sky, the train of her evening gown dragging the day’s light down with her. As the twilight paled Father Sky tucked the sun in bed, kissed her goodnight and hurried off to wake the moon and stars. He dragged the moon and stars from their warm dark purple quilts of the nighttime sky and set the stars to dance in the moon’s ethereal glow. I always see romance in the dark night sky.

Always looking for a quote that inspires me or makes me think. I love this quote by Henri Matisse. “Happy are those who sing with all their heart, from the bottoms of their hearts. To find joy in the sky, the trees, the flowers. There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” There are so many simple things in life that we see but don’t really see them for the gifts they are. I’m thinking of that little dandelion I see on my morning walks. I see a beautiful little bright yellow flower but some see a pesky invasive weed. I know they are really invasive but I can enjoy their blooms, appreciate their beauty, yet understand that they have to be dealt with.

There are so many gifts in life, so many surprises. We need to try and look at them as flowers and not as weeds. If we are pessimists, we travel through life just seeing weeds and waiting for more weeds to sprout up and overtake our beautiful gardens of life. We can’t see all the glorious blooms of our lives for worrying about weeds that might invade our lives. If we’re optimists, we can see the flowers where others just see the weeds. We can use our faith and our prayers to make gardens out of the weedy chaos that’s just a part of the human experience. Sometimes we get so caught up in this fast paced world we don’t see or acknowledge the flowers in our lives. Look around, you probably have more blooms in the garden of your life than you can you realize. Be thankful for your blessings and don’t worry about the weeds. God will take a care of them.

Been pondering the day away in my reading chair staring out the windows at the bamboo forest in my back yard, thinking how strong and resilient the bamboo canes are. The bamboo can remind us of our Christian faith, our ability to withstand challenges, our trust in God giving us strength to put down deep roots of faith, where we learn to bend like the bamboo when life is challenging. Bamboo is associated with resilience, strength, and growth. The bamboo have extensive root systems underground and quickly shoot up, their canes strong and flexible. Through our prayers and Bible studies our faith grows deep roots, helping us adapt to withstand challenges and persevere when life is hard. The more we trust God the deeper our faith grows, our spiritual roots anchored in God’s grace.

The bamboo are symbols of longevity. The canes are durable and flexible, standing tall and staying green all year, bending in the rain and snow, standing erect when the sun shines and the storms are over. Their leaves are long and elegant, a graceful nod to beauty. Bamboo take life as it comes, bending when days are heavy, standing tall when the darkness passes. As Christians we should stand tall in our faith, bending with trials and tribulations, knowing God’s love will push us back up straight when the stormy weather passes.

In the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, the guardian angel Clarence Odbody says, “Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful whole doesn’t he?” I’ve never seen a bamboo growing alone. The canes always grow close and gathered together, getting strength by their numbers. They stand shoulder to shoulder, help each other stand tall, adapting to any circumstance. We can learn, from the bamboo’s ability to thrive in various conditions, the value of adapting to life’s challenges.

We can have a profound impact in the world if we travel through life as a Christian. We can touch people through our witness of kindness and compassion. We never know the power of a loving smile or a warm hug. When someone’s life is in turmoil we can help lift their burdens through our prayers. We can stand tall, bending through the storm’s wind, with our faith. “The wind does not break a tree that bends. Be as strong as iron when you must, but never inflexible,” Christa Wick.

Job 14:7 reads, “For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.” Let us have deep roots of faith in our lives so that we always find a measure of hope in the midst of despair. The wind does not break a tree that bends!

“Be like a bamboo, the taller you grow, the deeper you bow.” — Chinese Proverb