We’ve grown flowers for a while now. Erin pots them and dots our front beds with them. But this year has produced some oddities. One of the ones it’s produced is this flower
It’s an area you would think would be the worst place for a flower to seed. It’s at the foot of the driveway in the gutter next to the drain. But it’s optimal as well. Our driveway slants ever so slightly away from the house to not only clear the gutter but also the median at the entrance to our street. This guy is on the inside of that tilt so he’s easy to avoid when backing out and turning in. He’s surrounded by concrete which doesn’t cool as fast as the surrounding air so he’s still alive when the others have bitten the dust. But can you imagine God telling you he wants to plant you in the gutter between a driveway and a sewer drain?
Today we learned the awful news of Ken and Chris being evicted from their workshop they’ve been at for well over a decade. This just days after they sold their house and in the middle of busy season for Chris. The condemning smells highly fish, like ulterior motives have something to do with all of this. You don’t JUST have an abrupt mass inspection and evict people 24 hours later. Sounds too preplanned. Sounds like someone’s been roaming to and fro, about the Earth…
So now they’re homeless. No house. No shop. No hot water. Not a single luxury. Like Robinson Crusoe… wait, that’s another story. But what ever shall they do? Erin cried and cried over it. I’m sure Tia’s ready to read the riot act to someone in Jacksonville, regardless of the 700 mile gap.
Yet, I almost had to laugh when I ran through it all in my head. Not because eviction is funny, but because it has the fingerprints of God all over it. It’s a valley. It’s a big one. But it’s the kind of thing that changes you. You can let it kill your spirit or you can let it make you stronger. Erin and I walked that path 15 months ago and things are vastly improved today. Perseverence is a virtue. Faithfulness is rewarded. If God tells you to go to the desert don’t bring a coffin. Our flower survives even in the freezing temps at night. It thrives where it was planted. So the world won’t end today. Thanksgiving is shot, nerves are frayed but God is still in charge. Job didn’t forget that, even when he lost all his children and everything he owned.
