White Daisy

"To Be"

6" X 6" Oil on Raymar

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Flowers are.  Their purpose in life is "to be".  

By their mere existence, they bring beauty to an open field or an area alongside a road, or character and curb appeal to the residential landscape.  With perfect positioning, they add color to the patio, interest to the home decor, ambiance to the wedding, and accessories to the prom attire.  When given as a gift, they communicate love to a spouse or friend, sympathy to the family of the deceased, wishes of recovery to the sick, hope to the downtrodden, and joy to many celebrations.

People do.  Their purpose in life is often to accomplish. 

Our mere existence, or idleness, is generally not accepted in our culture.  Don't we all have a "To Do" list - if not on paper, at least in our heads?  We do our chores, do our homework, do errands, do church, do taxes, do yard work, do school activities, do our exercises, do work assignments, do whatever it takes to get ahead......need I say more?

At a recent Africa Reflections meeting (recap of the mission trip), Allen Mounts, team leader, opened his presentation by stating their main purpose for this trip was "to just be" with the Maasai tribe, not necessarily "to do",...... although, of course, they did.  Honestly, being a queen-doer, I was a little disappointed to hear that.  I felt my spirit drop just a bit because selfishly, I was hoping to be moved by all the things they did - after all, I had a lot of prayer time invested in this trip!!

Well, that was until I heard, and saw, how the "to be" went down!  I love Allen's phrase "to be", but from my perspective, it looked a little more like "walking along side of".  You see, they ate with them, and talked with them, and played with them, and worked with them, and learned with them, and prayed with them, and worshipped God with them.  They shared special moments with them when no words need to be spoken.  They made a huge impact on each other, as evidenced by the visible emotion and audible passion in each of the team members that spoke that evening.  I wish you had been there - it was a powerful evening!

So, what does my flower painting have to do with any of this?  Since "flowers are", yet they "do" so much, I hope it reminds you "to just be", because sometimes that is exactly what a situation calls for!  For whom do you need "to be"?

"Be still and know that I am God." 

Psalm 46:10