Prevailing
A weed is a plant that is not only in the wrong place,
but intends to stay. — Sara Stein
Have you ever noticed that weeds can grow in the most unlikely places? Or they grow in places where they’re obviously not meant to be?
Weeds assert themselves and flourish where other plants seemingly cannot muster the same fortitude. They push up through the smallest of cracks in asphalt or cement. They slowly and deliberately disrupt man-made structures.
Without fanfare, weeds quietly go about their mission — to prevail.
Could there be a life lesson here? We ourselves may feel out of place at times. Or circumstances may seem to be overwhelmingly against us. But perhaps there’s a “crack” somewhere that can serve as a place of breakthrough for us — and a way to prevail.
A Simple Metaphor
A Northern Mockingbird flew onto the lamppost and sat there for perhaps a full minute. My guess was that he (or she) was in the process of collecting material for a nest. In the midst of his work, he appeared to be resting a bit and observing the early-morning activity in our small town. After a few moments, he flew away, no doubt eventually finishing his tasks with an instinctive dedication and precision.
I thought about the freedom that birds have to fly to any high perch of their choosing. How exhilarating it would be to fly unhampered as our feathered friends do: Launching effortlessly into an inviting expanse. Banking in one direction, then another. Diving with abandon and soaring to great heights.
It strikes me that the sparrow could be a simple metaphor of the life intended for all of God’s creation, including humankind:
Flying – Landing. Working – Resting. Diving – Soaring.
UPDATE ON 1/3/09: Many thanks to Doug Demarest of Yadkin County for notifying me that I had initially misidentified this little bird as a Sparrow!
Finding Moments
I’m so often in a hurry and feel pressed to get back to my seemingly never-ending to-do list. It’s a constant struggle for me to “Stop and smell the roses” — or in this case, the daisies. Sometimes the struggle is harder than at other times. It would have been easy to keep walking by this scene. But, of course, I would have missed the joy of capturing and celebrating the beauty of the moment.
