beautiful One i love

This spring I decided to have a spontaneous garden.  Steve and the boys killed some grass in the backyard, and I threw some seeds down.  I was advised to grow them as seedlings in pots first and then transfer them to the ground.  But I was curious to see what would come up if I just threw them in and raked a bit. 

I wanted to see what would survive the birds, the lack of rain, my forgetting to water everyday.  I wanted to see what would survive and be strong.

The boys gave me a rose bush on Mother's Day, and we planted it alongside the sunflowers and zinnias making an appearance.  We added mulch and a border.  Steve decided to throw down some watermelon seeds.  This weekend they showed their first green sprouts, dotting a small area of the garden.

I'm amazed what will grow, even with neglect and not so favorable conditions.  I was pondering that this evening, as I watched the movie "Last Chance Harvey".  Two lonely, somewhat downcast people finding each other, transforming one another's lives.  As their relationship blossoms, so does the light in their eyes; their unique characters emerging, growing in strength from one another.  Seriously, few movies make me cry for the pure beauty of what they are trying to show, but this one did.

The two get to know one another, on long walks, laughing, answering each other's hard questions, and begin to fall in love.  They dare to love amidst hurt. It made me think of how much I love Jesus. Steve is great, that goes without saying, but I get what it's like to grow close to Someone who makes me stronger.  Who makes me laugh.  Who comforts me like no other. Who zooms into my situation and makes me smile through my tears.

Sometimes we feel like that seed I threw down.  Carelessly planted, whether by our own doing, or others, and not always treated in the most favorable way.  We're not sure where we will emerge. We dare to grow.  Our frail shoots become taller plants with deeper roots.  We dare to hope. We fixate on the One who's light we need so much. We live for His breath.  We breathe in His rain.  

We bloom and we laugh, and we become beauty.