“Mimsy, do you have flowers in your backyard?” my four-year-old grandson asked, his brown eyes wide with wonder, marveling at the blossoms blooming in the yard of his new home.
The California neighborhood my daughter and her family had moved into was filled with trails, trees, and lots of gloriously growing greenery that a non-gardener like me couldn’t possibly name. My grandson, Xander, was enamored with every verdant square inch.
I explained to him that my home in Colorado, which Xander hadn’t had the opportunity to visit yet, had a very short time when flowers could bloom. Also, I didn’t really have a backyard. A small, walled cement patio was my only outdoor space. I told Xander that I didn’t have any soil where flowers could grow, but I did have a chair and a little table where I could sit and read during the brief summer months.
“Well, when I come for a visit,” Xander said, “I’m going to bring you a flower from our yard because everyone needs a flower. They’re beautiful.”
I guess even a four-year-old can recognize that beauty isn’t just a nicety but a necessity. If God didn’t think beauty was important, I don’t believe He’d have woven it so tightly into the fabric of the universe. Perhaps I do need a flower on my little back porch, every petal a visual hymn of praise reaching up toward its Creator, reminding me to take the time to do the same.
Father, thank You for filling this world with such beauty and diversity. Thank You for how it fills my heart with awe and draws my thoughts toward You.
—Vicki Kuyper
