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Nov 12, 2023 06:00am

Pretty Weeds

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The warm air felt comforting to my weary soul. After several days of facing frustrating
roadblocks in plans my husband and I had been prayerfully pursuing in hopes of buying a new home-our forever home we had hoped, an emergency surgery for our youngest child over the weekend, all that goes into caring for him as he recovers, and the aftermath of the chaos showing up as piles of laundry, dishes, bills, and many boxes on my to-do list unchecked, I was in desperate need of peace. School was quickly approaching. Our middle child would begin her senior year in a week. Our youngest child would be starting 6th grade at his co-op, and I would be homeschooling him in two weeks. Lesson plans had not yet been made. Lingering plans of math practice before starting back to classes had been neglected.

My mind felt like it was in a constant spin-cycle.

So, I turned on my music, cranked it up to full volume, and put my phone in my pocket. I set out for the walking trail, singing along to my music, not even caring if I appeared crazy to passers-by. I needed this time to cry out to The One Who is in Control when everything felt very much out of control. I got to the spot where I could choose to go left, where it feels like a little stretch of wilderness in the middle of the city, or right where I walk under the busy street and hear the hustle and bustle of the city buzzing around.

I chose to go left. As I walked, there were so many tiny, yellow flowers that kept catching my eye. They seemed to grow where nothing else was growing. They were sweet, little clusters of happy yellow that sprang up in the dry soil and grass alike. I stopped and took pictures of these flowers a couple of times along the path. Using the “identify” feature on the pictures on my phone, I was given several possibilities of what these flowers actually were. The possibilities were numerous: pheasant’s eye, spring pheasant’s eye, yellow pheasant’s eye, false hellebore, bristleleaf, pricklyleaf, Dahlberg daisy, golden fleece, shooting star, Thymophylla tenuiloba, large-leaved leopard’s bane, ragwort, Doronicum grandiflorum…and then there was the consensus from friends I texted: pretty weeds.

One thing I noticed as I searched for information about these little resilient flowers is that, whatever it is actually called, it is able to grow in direct sunlight, without much water, and it doesn’t require human attention to thrive. I thought about how many things I was letting my mind worry about. I had a long list of things I felt like I urgently needed to figure out. So many worries were hijacking my thoughts.

Then, Luke 12:27-32 came to mind.
“Consider how the wildflowers grow; they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet, I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you-you of little faith? Don’t strive for what you should eat or what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.”

I needed to hand all of those things I had been worrying over to God. I was reminded that He knows exactly what I need, better than I do…and His Word reminded me that He would provide for every need as He knows best how they need to be handled -beyond what my limited mind could figure out on my own.

So, as I walked back to my house, I prayed and gave over every care I had and asked God to guide me to accomplish His plans, trusting that He cares even more about me than He does those “pretty weeds,” that relied completely on His provision. And just like them, I can completely rely on His provision, as well.