Seeds from God

My friend died.

She wasn't just my friend, she was the lady who wiped butts, potty trained, put cold rags on boo-boos and loved my kids from 9 to 5 for many years.

It has been a month.  I have gone through a million emotions in the last 40 days.  I have been so fortunate in my 55 years that this is really the first time I have seen someone be in horrible pain and pass.

And she was young.

A couple of times after her sweet husband left the hospital I would stay behind.  I wanted to give him a break but I just felt the need to be there.  I don't know why.  It was peaceful.  Two of those nights amazing thunderstorms came.  The lightning reflected in the room and it was so surreal.  It was in those moments that I reflected on my own life. And, I was so happy for the rain.
After that thunderstorm, I came home for bed.  The next morning, I got to my office upstairs, looked out the window and I saw this sunflower smiling at me.  I didn't plant the sunflower.  Some bird or no doubt a squirrel dropped it there.  Didn't really care how it got there, just that  it was there.  Standing tall, with a huge, yellow blossom.  Who doesn't smile when they see sunflowers?

I left my office and went outside to admire it.  As I stood there and looked at all of the weeds in the wood pile, I noticed a pumpkin growing, some zinnias and another sunflower.  I planted none of these.  I didn't water them, I didn't pick weeds, they just appeared, seeds from God.

As I walked back to my office, I noticed a few of the dogwoods that were also coming up that I did not plant. 

Funny, I busted my behind in my vegetable garden and it looked horrible, worst year ever actually and here I was surrounded by all of these lovely trees or flowers that I did nothing to and they were awesome.  Seeds from God with the help from a squirrel and they were amazing.

As I was working, my eyes were drawn to the sunflower out the window.  At some point, after pre empts and program changes, I just put my head in my hand and gazed out the window.

People are like that sunflower straight ahead of me.  Some people just sprout up in your life and your friendship prospers.  You don't have to spend time weeding it, or watering it, your relationship blossoms.  Others are filled with weeds, or do well then go to seed or just never bloom. 

And just like in the wood pile, it takes one Seed from God, just one seed, to bring joy into your life.

In the case of my friend, I had a friend who told me to call a friend, she told her friend and this friend became our friend.  She and her husband also took care of another family's kids, also friends  of ours and the circle began.

I often wonder what our lives would be like if she hadn't shown up at our house that day to talk about taking care of the kids?   I wonder what her life would have been like without our kids?  She was that special seed placed in our lives.

We all have the "one" friend, easy, peasy.  No water, fertilizer, lousy soil, it just blossoms.  Others, you spend all that time and fuss, fertilize, weed and prune and still the relationships never blooms.

And isn't it so amazing how seeds get blown in your direction and you don't even realize it until  they begin to sprout?  Why is it that God puts certain people into your life when you need them the most and you don't even realize it?  And how crazy is it that you can just meet someone and you know?   You know they are "your type of person".  And how surprising is it when this new "seed from God" turns out to be the one of those special people in your life? 

My friend was like that flower.  Standing tall.  Shining bright and blossoming.  A Seed from God.  She and her husband.  God planted                                                                                 her in our lives.  She blossomed.

Plant a flower.  Make a friend.  Pick a flower.  Give it to someone.  Smell the flowers.  Appreciate those lovely people in your life.  Have a bouquet of folks who give you joy, pluck the weeds and understand there are no coincidences in life.  One choice leads to the next. 

God has a hand in all you do, even when he is done planting seeds.