The Flowering Grass

One of my children discovered an old video of home movies in our media cabinet last night, and soon the entire family had gathered around to laugh at the grainy footage of Mom and Dad back when we had fitter bodies and fewer kids — and that same great sense of style our offspring have long found so amusing. Big hair and short shorts, anyone?

Midway through the movie, I turned to my husband and said, "That really doesn't seem so long ago, does it?"

"It was only yesterday," he agreed.

It brought to mind the Bible verses (1 Peter 1:23-35, James 1:10-11) that compare man to grass. God took care to make the flowers of the field. He clothes them in beauty, sends sunshine and rain as needed (Luke 12:27). He must have a purpose for doing so.

Yes, tomorrow the grass will wither and the flower fade, but for today, its roots protect the soil from erosion, its green shoots provide food for itself as well as nourishment to others, its blossoms beautify the landscape, and it seeds allow for reproduction, so the cycle can continue.

Life is short, so perhaps we should take a lesson from the withering grass and use our days on earth to protect and preserve the communities in which we live, to nourish those with whom we come in contact, to beautify our little corner of the world, to rely on God to supply our needs, and to reproduce so that this mandate can be passed on to the next generation.