March 27 - Wildflower Season
On Transitions and togetherness
The wildflowers beckon me to be present to and engaged in life - in all seasons.
Wildflower season is here! The different specks of colors brighten up fields and evoke beauty and awe. Families take pictures among bluebonnet fields as a Texas tradition. Painters paint wildflower landscapes to memorialize this beautiful season. I appreciate that wildflower season feels like a season within a season - spring in full bloom and the summer heat just around the corner.
As I’ve been seeing wildflowers on my walk, and because I’m in the midst of a big job transition, I’ve been thinking about the beauty and call to presence for each season of life in which we find ourselves. We also rarely have beautiful color changing leaves in the fall so spring feels like our only time to delight in the colors around us.
Each wildflower is its own kind, diversely unique. They’re low maintenance, often appearing like weeds before they bloom. They thrive in challenging weather conditions as if to remind us of our own resilience. They are here for just a few short weeks - in a sort of “blink and you’ll miss it” call to deep appreciation.
Some transitions and seasons of life are more challenging than others. We have to try, with all our might and the support of others, to find our way. And we often do. I love reminding myself, and lovingly reminding friends, of the hardships we have navigated. It helps boost my sense of strength. Some seasons and transitions are filled with more ease, more hope, and are more welcomed. These too, though, can be interwoven with a bittersweetness, in honoring what once was and diving into the unknown. Seasons, and life, pass so quickly.
In scripture, there are a few verses asking us to “consider how the wildflowers grow”. This is often interpreted as a reminder of how God provides for each of us. I also always am reminded that God asks us to help provide for one another, to be the living hands and feet as we serve one another. Trusting in Providence doesn’t mean inaction and disengagement. It’s quite the opposite - radical engagement and presence in all things as we discern our place and purpose in bearing light and love in the world.
I’ll consider how the wildflowers grow: inspired by their unique beauty and strength, their deep presence and joyful impact in a short season, their collective beauty in a field.
Reflection:
What are some wildflowers in my current season of life, whether challenging or easy-flowing? What transition or change am I facing? How can I be more present? Where can I make more of a positive impact, no matter how seemingly small or fleeting?
Prayer:
May the wide range
of wildflowers
in this meadow
remind you of what
your soul
already knows:
we are strong
in different ways
and that is what
helps us all grow.
Together, we will grow.
Together, we will grow.
may the wildflowers teach us:
together, we will grow.
Our beauty is in our wholeness.
Our aliveness is in our togetherness.
~Morgan Harper Nichols