A month ago, Jon and I took the kids to Goldpetal Farms in Chaptico for their annual Zinnia Zuperbloomfest, and of course to see the sunflower fields. It was a a visit we’d been meaning to make for some time now as Southern Maryland residents, and we were feeling adventurous enough to go at a moment’s notice. The sun’s blaze that Saturday in July did not deter us from going, nor did it stop the kids from wanting to wander through this year’s featured sunflower maze.

Even as someone who can acknowledge my testy behavior in the heat, there was something about being surrounded by beautiful flowers that beckoned me to go anyhow, as if they were that day’s therapy or self-care of sorts that my soul knew it needed.

It felt like I was living in a Claude Monet painting.

Beforehand we stopped at our local grocery store and picked up snacks for picnicking among the blooms. Once we got there we settled beneath a shaded picnic table.

It wasn’t that crowded that day, likely due to the higher temperatures, but I found it to be an advantage for taking it all in, on our own time – admiring the bright-colored blooms as far as my eyes could see and for as long as my body could take on the heat; listening to the buzzing bees, the singing birds, the voices of the kids.

Lucy and I cut flowers to enjoy later at home. Meanwhile I gave James our camera and he snapped away after I showed him very basic camera functions. Jon remained with Jack & Tomie, finding some relief from the heat in the cool barn nearby.

I couldn’t help but think of a song that I had been playing on repeat – “Sparrows and Lilies” by Pat Barrett. Until this day it’s a song that I turn to for the days when I need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness and tender care, especially in the midst of difficult times.

As my senses took everything in, being among those flowers, I stared at how they stood tall, dressed in all their beauty, and knew that no matter what worries I have in this life, for myself or for my family, that God will take care of us and our needs far more than the care that He has for any sparrow or flower for that matter.

I believe that’s why sprang at the opportunity to go there. Because there was something God wanted to reveal to us unbeknownst to us prior, and that it was exactly what my soul needed at the end of the day to sustain me moving forward in following His will.

Jesus has been gracious enough to teach me a lesson about the mystery of the differences in souls, simply by holding up to my eyes, the book of nature. I understood how all the flowers God created are beautiful – how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away from the perfume of the violet or the simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflower.

And so it is in the world of souls… Jesus’ garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but he created small ones as well… and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God’s glances, when he looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing God’s will… in being what He would have us be.

St. Therese of Lisieux