Pull Out The Weeds, And Water The Flowers
/Recently I received a text from a friend that took my breath away!!! The first thing I saw were these lovely pictures of flowers she took while traveling in England. Just as winter has had a hard time letting go to spring here in Utah, the same has been happening in the UK.
However, one thing seems to be consistent there, the abundance of nature’s beauty is everywhere you look! It seems God made England specifically to grow beautiful gardens, and especially flowers.
Research shows that flowers offer many different kinds of benefits. In 2019, studies revealed almost 20% of adults in the USA were dealing with some form of depression. There are many ways to improve our mood, flowers are one option. Simply looking at flowers and inhaling certain floral scents can lead to decreased stress, anxiety, and depression.
Flowers and ornamental plants increase levels of positive energy and help people feel secure and relaxed. Keeping flowers around the home and in the workplace greatly reduces a person's stress levels.
In a world of so much contention and negativity, flowers are one of God’s creations that help bring out the best in people. I added this quote to my quote book the other day, “Politeness is the flower of humanity” - Joseph Joubert.
It reminded me of yet another quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The focus of his talk was on marriage, however, I feel it applies to all the relationships we have in our lives. “Those who save marriages pull out the weeds and water the flowers. They celebrate the small acts of grace that spark tender feelings of charity. Those who save marriages save future generations.”
Too often we focus too much on the weeds in our lives, and not enough on the flowers. Both need LIGHT and water to survive. However, it’s up to us to decide if we allow the negativity of life’s “weeds,” to snuff out the positivity of life’s “flowers”.
“Becoming Christlike is a matter of daily spiritual growth. As a flower develops from a seed, as a mature adult develops from a tiny child, so can we grow spiritually day by day, eventually into Christlike personalities” - Mark E. Petersen.
In a recent talk by Russell M. Nelson he stated, “Civility and decency seem to have disappeared during this era of polarization and passionate disagreements. … Vulgarity, faultfinding, and evil speaking of others are all too common. ... Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one.
Contention never leads to inspired solutions. …Contention reinforces the false notion that confrontation is the way to resolve differences; but it never is. Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always. …How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way.”
Contention waters the weeds in our garden, Peacemaking cultivates the flowers. So as we go about our daily activities, may we look for ways to share LIGHT through flowers – whether real ones in a vase or figurative ones through kindness, understanding, and love. It takes both sunshine AND rain to make the flowers grow, flowers from England are proof positive. Let’s focus on pulling the weeds, and watering the flowers. Have a LIGHT filled week.
Love Ya, Les :)