Flowers Draw Things To Them

It is impossible to be in a garden of any kind and not begin to be slightly annoyed at the critters either buzzing at your head or crawling over your feet. I never come in the house after taking pics or working in a flower garden without taking a shower, and it's not just to get the dirt off.  I have to check for ticks, and hopefully get the sumac and poison ivy oils off me. While in my garden, I frequently have to look down and be sure there isn't a spider crawling over me. And I never get home with a set of macros of flowers that, when I download them, I don't find a tiny bug somewhere in at least one of the shots that I never even knew was there.  On the bright side, it is a joy when a butterfly alights right under my nose, especially if it is content enough to stay and pose.

As I was thinking of how to begin to pray this morning, I was reflecting on the fact that flowers do draw things to them.  I think Jesus wanted us to take a lot of images from a garden.  And the one that comes to mind this morning is that a bloom on a plant is like God. It's sweet fragrance draws us near to breath it in - the Holy Spirit is referenced as like the wind. Like the unseen air we breath, we wouldn't notice His presence if we didn't "stop and smell the roses" sometimes. Remember He is present, and draw in an awareness of Him. Like the fragrance of a bloom which has the power to get brain chemicals moving and remind us someone loves us, there is power in His presence. In a month when flowers are so prized as the number one gift that represents love, I want to thank God that He is Love. And I remember that just like the rose has thorns, love is not always sweet.

In spite of the thorns, we like our roses. In spite of the bugs, I love a garden. But the thorns and the bugs and the poison stuff could distract me from what I go to the garden for.  If I wait until the sweat is running down my back, I don't pray much while I am there. I am distracted. If I wait until the mosquitos are about to carry me off, I am distracted. Just thinking of the stuff distracts me from focusing on what were God's first words to me this morning: "Flowers draw things to them."

~This morning, I want to be drawn to you, Lord.~

There, that is how simple it was. Not a long prayer. Just a response to the voice of God.  Before I get too distracted.

~Sweet Spirit of God, I acknowlege your presence in my soul today. Thank you for desiring to live in me, even when I forget you are there. Let us be drawn close to one another to walk as one, today. And whether it be by sweetness or by thorns, continue to remind me you are here to love me, even when the distractions lead my mind away. May I always be drawn to you like a bee to the flower, always in need of your sustenance, but always knowing exactly where to go. Amen ~