Thursday, June 21, 2012

Unexpected Joy!

I absolutely adore flower anticipation. You know what I mean, the time between the florist calling and telling you they have a delivery, to the time they show up and you get to read the card to see who they are from. I call that space in time, flower anticipation.  As silly as it sounds, it's is one of the happiest feelings in the world for me.

Today I got to experience that feeling again. I'm going about my morning, changing the sheets on the bed, finishing a second cup of coffee when, ring ring..... I hear, "Hello, Mrs Jones? This is Bud's Floral Shop, we have a delivery for you. Will you be home for the next few minutes?" I'm thinking, Of course I will be home. Even if I had plans I'd delay them, oh my gosh - flowers!

I now have the next 15-20 minutes dedicated to putting my detective skills to work. I ask myself over and over, 'who would be sending me flowers.' oh, and, 'why would they be sending me flowers?' I find myself quickly changing from my pj's to clothes, fixing my make up really quickly and putting on a dash of perfume so I don't look like a total hag when the floral delivery man appears.

He shows up and I practically run to the gate to meet him.  We have our usual conversation about life and the weather, he gives me instructions on keeping my flowers alive and I give him a dozen fresh chicken eggs. We exchange a hug and he leaves.  At this point I can't wait to get inside the house to see from whom my flowers came.

Just before I open the card I notice something wonderful about my flowers. They are a mixture of blues and yellows.  These just may be my favorite flower colors. Yellow, because I love this color but cannot wear it. It washes me out and I look terrible in it, therefore I have very little yellow in my life.  And blue, well, mainly because blue is such an unlikely color for a flower that it always reminds me that there is a great creator who had a hand in making them.

Now men may never understand this, but flowers are the one thing most women just love getting.  They are bright, cheery, aromatic, beautiful to gaze upon.  They are just awesome.  I find that even though I buy myself flowers quite often, they are always more special when they come from someone else.   Perhaps it's the fact that whoever sent them had to take the time to recognize they would in some way cheer you.  You know that you are in their thoughts and that brings a great comfort to you.  Or they are an expression of love, what is better in life than knowing you are loved? 

I open the card and see that they came from my dear friends at Calvary de Taos and I am reminded of each of them and their sweetness and touch they have each had on my life.  When God led our family to Calvary de Taos many years ago we found our true family.  I always loved that this church was full of people just like me. People who had suffered, people who had won and lost, grieved, sinned, and carried on.  I didn't feel like an outsider, I felt like I belonged. It is the same group who has survived, excelled, been forgiven, live with joy, and trust in God. Yes, I found my family.

I have set my flowers in a place where I can look at them all day long. Each time I see them I smile.  I have stopped many times this morning to smell them and marvel at the little patches of yellowish hairs that creep up the inside of the iris petals.  The stamen in the lily is always so covered with pollen. I noticed as I reached in for a big ole sniff, my nose touched it and I had a fine layer of orange on the tip of my nose.  The gladiolus are gorgeous, and just the name bring joy to my heart. There are also delphiniums. Why do I love delphiniums so much? Well, in all honesty - besides the fact they are beautiful - I've always felt like a smarty pants when people say, "What is that flower? I can't remember the name," and I spout off, "why, those are delllphinnnniums." 

 A friend loveth at all times. Proverbs 17:17 . Thank you my friends, for loving me, for praying for me, for thinking of me, and yes......for the FLOWERS! 

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



1 comment:

  1. those flowers are beauuuuuuutiful. sigh. how I miss my CdT family...

    ReplyDelete