Apr
22
2022
Two Bouquets
Posted in Daily Living 4 Comments
I went into the little market.
I stop there weekly to pick up a few organic things I purchase there.
I could go through the market with my eyes closed.
I know where the things are that I routinely buy.
I can zip in and out in less than ten minutes.
It’s not that I’m on a time crunch.
I just that I know what I want and where to find it.
I know the cashiers from my frequent visits there and they know me.
This particular day, I grabbed a small shopping cart.
Sometimes a shopping cart is easier than carrying a basket on my arm.
I walked into the store and turned to grab a cart.
I noticed that something was underneath.
I looked and saw two beautiful bouquets of freshly cut flowers.
They were so lovely and so colorful.
I knew that someone had left them in the cart, forgetting them as they went out to their car.
I knew that someone would be terribly disappointed when they arrived home.
I pushed the cart into the store and got the bouquets from the bottom.
I walked up to the register.
Someone left these, I said to the red haired young man who I see each time I shop there.
It was busy that day and he had not heard me completely.
He looked as if he was going to scan the bar code on the paper that surrounded the bouquet.
I’m not buying these, I said, while he looked confused.
I think someone left them on the bottom of the cart, I explained.
Another young man, who was bagging groceries, remembered.
Yeah, they were just in here, he said, recalling the customer.
That’s a shame, he continued.
My feelings exactly.
Someone was not going to realize, until they got home, that they had forgotten the flowers.
I felt sad for that person.
Whoever it was, chose those bouquets for someone special or for a special occasion.
Perhaps, the flowers were chosen for no reason.
Perhaps the flowers were chosen to bring beauty and springtime into their home.
The red haired young man took the flowers from my hand.
He put them in a holding place, in case the customer came back.
He kept them separate from the other bouquets, since these were specially chosen.
Out of all the bouquets of flowers in the large bucket, these two bouquets were chosen.
I remind myself to look at the bottom of my shopping cart before I put it back.
Perhaps paper towels are still underneath.
Perhaps a large package of tissues are still there.
It would be very inconvenient to get home and realize that something was forgotten.
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
(Psalm 139:1-12)
It is an innocent mistake to forget two bouquets of flowers on the bottom of your cart.
In our busyness, we scramble to get everything done.
Even though they were colorful and beautiful, they were tucked out of sight.
Out of sight, out of mind it seemed.
Not so with God.
We are never out of His sight.
We are never out of His mind.
We are never forgotten.
We are handpicked, selected, and delighted over.
We are loved by our heavenly Father.
Not because we are inherently beautiful.
Rather, His love makes us beautiful.
His love makes us beautiful.
Say that to yourself.
Believe it with your whole heart.
I am beautiful because I am dearly loved by my heavenly Father.
I went to the market the other day.
I saw the same red haired young man.
Did the people ever come back for their bouquets of flowers? I asked, hoping he would remember.
They did, he said, yes, they did!
I left the store smiling.
Thanking God he loves us in spite of our selves !
Amen, Cindy!
What joy to be so loved!
Gina
Gina what a treat it is for Frank and I to read ‘Whispers’. You see God in the happenings of each day. What a gift for us to read! That passage from Psalm 139 is one of my favorites.
Thank you for sharing my prayers for Kendall and my sister, Patty. I ask you because you are faithful to lift them up…”as the Lord leads”.
Nancy,
I am so delighted that you and Frank are blessed when you read Whispers. I can imagine you sitting at the breakfast table, reading them together. Your words encourage me to press on.
Gina