Jesus and ground cover

I've never been too fond of ground cover... until today.

On a walk where I was encouraged to give myself permission to slow down or even stop to notice God's creation, I looked down and saw ground cover -- lots and lots of ground cover. On first glance, it was like, "Oh, just a bunch of green ground cover." But then I continued to look and noticed the cutest little blue flowers... (maybe you can't even see them, but they are really there!)

And there were also little red flowers!

 

I would have not even noticed them if I had moved too quickly because the first thing I noticed was just how much GREEN I saw everywhere!

And then I realized, how often I look at life and see so much pain, struggle, death, and brokenness that I almost don't even notice the little flowers of beauty Jesus has placed in the midst of what seems overwhelmingly sad. 

Some of the beautiful flowers I see in my life right now are:

• the moments when I get to touch the pregnant bellies of two dear friends and feel the little life growing inside of them
• a chance to teach some Korean neighbor kids how to bake banana muffins
• the ridiculous laughter that my husband and I share over the most random things
• a nephew who thinks I'm a princess because he saw me in my wedding dress last year
• and reflecting with a friend on God's healing and restoration of addiction and other strongholds in her life.

Today, I'm thankful for God's creation and how it reminds me of his love and provision, even in the midst of seasons of pain and sadness.