Stop and Smell the Primroses

Stop and Smell the Primroses

When I was a kid, my dad and I connected through a mutual love of wildflowers. One spring, Dad took the family camping in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, where we spent an afternoon hiking to a palm tree oasis. A decent rainy season meant a profusion of blooms bordered the rocky path. Dad and I whipped out a guidebook to learn their names: dune evening primrose, desert willow, ocotillo, indigo bush, and so on.

Thanks to my dad, flowers and plants remain among my favorite displays of God’s creative power and sustaining love. When life is stressful, a walk around our tree-filled neighborhood or a sojourn to the Sierra Nevada takes my mind off trouble and fixes my thoughts on the Creator, who clothes the lilies of the field and cares for His children’s every need (Matthew 6).

Now with my daughter accompanying me on neighborhood strolls, I’m brought back anew to the wonderment that trees and flowers inspire. Berries, pinecones, blossoms, seedpods—anything is fair game for my daughter’s imagination. Dandelions are a particular favorite of hers, and I know she’ll be a champion tree climber someday! I hope she will also share the love for flowers that fills my own heart with adoration of our Heavenly Father.

Adults need do very little to cultivate a sense of wonder in kids—they’re naturally curious. However, when we join them in their wonderment, then we can model curiosity about God. He is invisible to us, but He made a colorful world to reveal His character qualities to us (Romans 1). A visit to a botanical garden, an excursion to a wildflower field, or an evening under the backyard trees provides an opportunity to take worship of the Creator out of the Sunday school routine and reinvigorate it with joy.

By Maureen Moser