I headed across the gravel path on my morning walk. Suddenly my attention was caught by teeny-tiny flowering “weeds” which had just recently sprung up all along the bark-chip flowerbed. You can see them here. Just a mass of weeds.
I was curious what the teeny-tiny flowers looked like. (They were not much larger than a pinhead.) So, I proceeded to get down on my hands and knees in the dirt, and to zoom in super close with my phone-camera.
Here you can see what I discovered. Aren’t they beautiful!
It blows my mind that God would put that much intricate detail into something so tiny no one would ever see it. Just notice, in the flower on the right, the bright purple guiding lines … almost like airport runway landing lights … guiding insects in to land where they need to. Amazing!
Today is Mother’s Day. In thinking about these “weeds” … this is a lot like what the early stages of Motherhood is like. When our kids are little, it seems as if all we ever deal with are “weeds” of some sort or another. “Weeds” of poopy diapers. “Weeds” of tantrums. “Weeds” of toys spread all throughout the house. “Weeds” of toilet training.
“Weeds” of messes, and runny noses, and tears. “Weeds” of dirty dishes … and “weeds” of dirty clothes.
If feels as if all we ever deal with are “weeds” … and in the process, we feel lost, unnoticed, unseen, invisible. Just like these teeny tiny little flowers.
But God is there! God is there in the “weeds” … working all things together with the same intricate detail as that of the teeny tiny flowers in the photos above. God is doing something incredibly beautiful … right there in the “weeds” of little-kid mothering.
And God delights in the beauty! Because He sees! He notices! He cares!
My morning walk took me on loops around my front drive. As I rounded a corner, there … with the sun glinting off its golden fuzziness … was a little caterpillar crossing the road. You can see this little caterpillar in the photo below on the left. It was rapidly advancing at an impressive rate.
I continued on my way, and as I was passing by the car barn … lo and behold, another little caterpillar was busily crawling across the gravel drive! You can see this little guy in the photo on the right.
These two little caterpillars made me think of my own two kids … and of the later stages of Motherhood. As our kids grow up, they get busier and busier! It wears us out just trying to keep up with them! They’ve got places to go! They’ve got things to do! Their whole life is before them … so full of promise and potential!
Our kids are like little caterpillars. Very soon we are going to need to let them go. Very soon they are going to go through the process of metamorphosis … of changing from our little kids … and transforming into strong, capable, independent young adults. Very soon our kids will become butterflies … and take off on their own beautiful flight!
Amazing! Incredible!
Thank you God for blessings in the dirt!
Thank you God for the incredible gift of Motherhood!
Thank you God for the “weeds” of motherhood! Thank you God for the busy caterpillar stage of motherhood! And thank you God for the beautiful butterfly stage of motherhood!
