A Beautiful Flower

Cheryl Costello-Forshey once told a story about "the most beautiful flower." The story began with a woman who was disillusioned with life, with many reasons to frown. She sat down on a deserted park bench and began to sulk. At that moment, a little boy interrupted her silence and exclaimed, "Look what I found!" In his hand was a flower which was quite pitiful, with worn petals and a brown, droopy stem. As she grew more irritable, the woman just wished the boy would go away and leave her alone. Instead, the boy sat beside her and placed the flower to his nose and said, "It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful too. That's why I picked it for you!" The little boy handed the woman the flower, which looked more like a weed. There were no vibrant colors in this flower, no wonderful aroma or anything eye-catching about it. The woman was rather insulted that the boy would give her such an ugly "gift." She almost wondered if it was a joke. Out of kindness, the woman took the flower and said "thank you". The woman noticed that the boy handed the flower to her, but did not place it in her hand, and then she realized for the first time that the little boy was blind.

The little boy was pleased that she accepted his gift and ran on to play. The self-pitying woman sat speechless on the park bench after the little boy left. It was almost as if the little boy "saw" her self-indulgence. Perhaps he had been the one who was blessed with true sight. The woman learned a great lesson that day--from that moment on, she vowed to see the beauty in life and appreciate every second that she had. As she held the wilted flower to her nose, she breathed in the fragrance as a reminder to her of the lesson the boy taught her. It was at that moment that she could smell a "rose".

There are certainly plenty of problems in this world and it is easy to get bogged down with all of the issues that plague us on a daily basis. The Lord used this "beautiful flower" story to remind me this week that I need to be thankful for each day and the blessings that belong to me. Sometimes when things don't go "our way" we are tempted to become disillusioned, but there are always things to be thankful for in this life and the Lord desires for us to have a heart of gratitude. The blind little boy is such an inspiration to me, because he was not concerned with the fact that he was blind--he was not depressed or sad because of his blindness. Instead, he was enjoying life and giving to others.

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts as you reveal those "beautiful flowers" to us. Many times, we have blessings that we do not see. May we not be blind to the blessings that you desire to give us. Give us "true sight" as we seek to be thankful for each day and the special moments that will be gone before each day is over. Most of all, help us to see the needs of those around us so that we can bless some else's life today.