Fields, roadsides & ranch lands are in full bloom.

Texas wildflowers have arrived!

Wildflowers always surprise me when they shoot forth randomly among grass, rock and hard dirt.  They are a bit like your life being interrupted with troubles.  Neither worries nor wildflowers seem to care when or where they appear.  They are just there!

Does a problem, concern, or fear seem to appear out of nowhere?  It’s like that with wildflowers, too.  A week ago there were no blossoms.  It even seemed maybe they wouldn’t come this year–like something or someone had intervened and there would be no wildflowers.  But they’re here!

Do you think you could learn to see a purpose and beauty in the thing that appears uninvited in your life?  Like some folks, I tend to want to spend some time with my worries.  I want to bemoan them, even show them off to others. 

There’s another similarity between your worries and wildflowers.  They are right in front of you.  If you think you can just hurry down the highway and ignore them…think again!  The same is true with your worries.  You can’t ignore them or outrun them.  There’s a formula for dealing with both–your worries and wildflowers.  You must:

Slow down.

Stop and face them.

Spend time with them.

We know Bluebonnets don’t have to face the fear of spring storms, the pain of hail, the pounding rain or the long-suffering drought alone–because they are joined by their friends:  Indian Blankets, Paint Brush, Evening Primrose, Bitterweed and Brown-eyed Susan.  Like the Texas Bluebonnet, we are not alone.

Just as hard as it was for the wildflower to work its way up through rock and limestone, your worries will push through to your thoughts.  Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your next worries looked a little more like the wildflower that comes but then goes.

There are rules about each–worries and wildflowers.  They are there to remind you that pleasant or unpleasant surprises often catch us unaware.  Here’s another rule about wildflowers and worries.

Don’t pick them.

They are not yours.

Leave them there.

…And when you turn away from the wildflowers…or the worries…

when you need to get back to your journey…

you’ll leave less burdened…more joyous…

and ready for your next experience.