Orange and Gray

When I was a little girl, my dad always told me, "Bridie, don't forget to stop and smell the roses." I never forgot this piece of advise and from that point on I always stopped to smell the roses. When my husband and I met, he noticed this right away as I would frequently stop to smell the roses  (or whatever other flower grazed our path). Jon finally stopped me one day and asked why in the world I did this. I told him about the little phrase my dad would always tell me and how I was almost compelled every time I saw flowers.

I don't know if that was the intention my dad had for the comment, but I can't help but notice the flowers as often as I do. However, the other day I was sitting and watching the sunset and as the sky faded, it turned into this sweet orange and gray. As I watched this amazing sunset, I was sitting in the grass pondering the dandelion in my hand. What about the Dandelions. For most of you who have yards, you might think I am crazy. But I love Dandelions. I can't help but notice the Dandelions! It is considered a weed, has no scent, and has tons of little seeds within them that take over any area of grass like wild fire. For some odd reason, I like to think of this little weed as a flower. I LOVE them!!! They are so beautiful and fun. Some of you might be familiar with the Five Iron Frenzy song Dandelions. There is a line that they sing that says "You see flowers in these weeds". This whole song depicts the radical love that Christ has for us regardless of how sinful we are. We are beautiful to Him. He also created us to multiply as believers, to make disciples and to thrive among the communities we live in. As messed up as we are, God uses us despite our sin. Not that we have an excuse to live however we want...but that God uses the weak, broken, and humble.

I am currently working on a painting that depicts this reality in my life. Things are not always black and white...sometimes they are orange and gray. I will soon post but for the mean time, I will reflect on the beauty of the One who loves the weeds.

Enjoy!

~B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSe4mZ2bvkg&feature=related