TooManyFlowers

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

Martin Luther

I have been struggling to find a sense of beauty in this strange and different land,

It is a land where poverty, hardship and survival dominates the mindset of the people and the government.

There seems to be little emphasis on natural or manmade beauty.

What a stark contrast to the West…..where there seems to be a proccupation with the beautiful.

But today God has reminded me of His nature in this busy and introverted world, this morning I read in Job 38:22….

“Have you entered the treasury of snow,

Or have you seen the treasury of hail”

There are unseen beauties even in a place that seems devoid of beauty.

Snowflakes are invisible to the naked eye, but for those who diligently seek they will find that each snowflake is an individual masterpiece, superbly patterned and decorated.

God began to flash the treasures of Baseco in front of my minds eye,

I was humbled and encouraged.

I was reminded of  the TREASURE of children and mothers

I was reminded of a TREASURED sight…..that I have seen a glorious BLUE butterfly(nothing like the butterflies in Australia)  flying through the slums on a sunny day!

I was reminded of the glorious flowers the local children bought me on my first Sunday in Baseco, they were gorgeous pinks and reds, I was amazed that they found such TREASURES in the midst of the rubbish I was honoured to put it in my hair

I was reminded that I found a TREASURE when walking  from Gasungan with Pst Marivic, Precy and Pst Annie and we found 4 glorious PINK flowers on a path…we put them behind our ears too. They were glorious adornments for beautiful women of God.

I was  reminded of the TREASURE of a fresh smell…….

The smell of clean clothes and washing as you walk past diligent and hard working women scrubbing clothes by hand each day, when the heat and humidity makes the surrounding slum stench almost unbearable.

Then I was walking to an office in Baseco today and had to wait for a lady. I was  overlooking the garbage strewn, polluted harbour and pier, then I saw another TREASURE….. a  rainbow peeped through the dark, smoke ridden, dreary sky……the first I have seen here.

Then I looked at my emails and found the TREASURE of the Apple Tree quote…….

I realised that there is beauty everywhere, you just have to be diligent and look deeper and  harder….

But it is there!

Thanks God for reminding me!