Wild Flowers

When asked your favorite kind of flower, what is your answer? Roses? Gardenias? Carnations? Aren't they all so beautiful? My favorite flower isn't one you will order from a florist. It isn't one you typically see in beautiful arrangements. My favorite flower is the honeysuckle. I know it's technically a vine. But I love the aroma of the flowers on those vines. I love the way they grow wild. I love the simple sweetness they possess. Honeysuckle is also my favorite scent. When asked my favorite flower, I hesitate. Because I know honeysuckle isn't the answer people expect. (My second favorite...jonquils...again simple beauty) My husband knows not to buy me flower arrangements. The way to my heart is a piece of a honeysuckle vine carried in from a bush he happened by on the farm. The thought that he saw it, thought of me, took the time to cut a bundle off for me, and carry it back to me with care just steals my heart. I appreciate and see the beauty in the simple things. I'm low maintenance in most areas of my life. I've always been proud of this fact. I'm pretty easy to please in most cases. Guys, I'm sooooo awesome. Hear me tooting my own horn? Tooooooot! Tooooooot!  Here's what I don't want you to know. Recently I let myself get worked up and irritated because I had to wait twenty minutes for my online grocery order to be brought to my car.   TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES (gasp!)  It usually only takes a few minutes. I almost would have had time to go in and do the shopping myself in twenty whole minutes. What is the hold up?   I called them to make sure they hadn't forgotten me. (I actually think they had from the response) Then as I sat there, I realized how ridiculous I was. I'm not high maintenance at all.  No siree.  I am so low maintenance that  I had someone else do my shopping for me. I didn't even have to go in and pick them up. I haven't done that much in the past year. All I had to do was pull in and sit. Someone else did all the work for me. What if I had to bake that bread I bought, churn that butter, or grow the vegetables? (I don't even know how to make Lemon Meringue jello cups!!!) Just that morning I prayed for forgiveness for taking so many things for granted. And not many hours later I was bent out of shape for having to wait for my groceries to be carried out and placed in my car.  So much for low maintenance. There was once a time I had to wait for a few minutes on a whole pot of coffee to brew. Now I pop a pod in the machine and have coffee in a matter of seconds. Sometimes I pick up food that other people have cooked for me because I'm not in the mood to cook. I don't think twice about being able to do that. And here's my point. I know it's almost become a cliche to say, "Count your blessings". We always remember the big ones. Do we always remember the not so "big" ones? Do we feel blessed every time we turn a knob and water comes out? What about the water getting hot almost instantly? I so love a hot shower. The hotter the better.  If we listed every little blessing every time we spoke with God, we would never finish praying. Friends, that's how blessed we are. I know things happen. Those valleys get low. I have been in valleys so low that it felt like I was digging out with a spoon while life was covering me back up with a shovel. And guess what? My valleys are nothing compared to those that others have endured. Sometimes you have to actively look for those blessings. But they are there. I challenge you to look for the not so obvious blessings. Maybe it's in the lopsided smile of a loved one. Maybe it's the ease of which we can wash and dry our clothes. Maybe it's a kind word from someone. Maybe it's clean sheets on the bed. (Isn't that wonderful?) And the flowers in the post  picture? They were the inspiration for this post...picked by my husband...unexpected...brought in with a lopsided smile...my favorite...I am blessed.