Cindy Brewer
I told my spiritual director that although I love flowers and that being with flowers is the happiest place for me to be, I decided not to make a career of growing them. The reason why? Because I learned that wild or garden flowers don’t always grow straight!
Yes, after laughing at myself, I showed him that 20 percent of the stems of the bouquet of zinnia flowers I brought him were bent and crooked. It would be difficult to have a business if 20 percent of one’s product was defective.
We then looked more closely at the bouquet as I showed him the flowers’ flaws. It turned out that the crooked-stemmed flowers were actually sturdier than the others, and when placed just right, they added to the bouquet, making it fuller.
Thankfully I didn’t let the control freak inside of me takeover that day? No, I made the bouquet and gave it to someone who really enjoys flowers. The fact that they weren’t perfect did not stop me from sending them to someone who would appreciate them.
Now, if I were to charge someone for the bouquet, I know I would want all the stems to be perfect. But, really, why? The crookedness only made the flowers more unique, and the flower heads themselves were actually the prettiest of all the flowers.
It seems that God makes up for what we call imperfections. If we only took the time to appreciate each flower, or item, or person, we’d discover that.
These flowers stayed in the garden a few days longer than normal because I didn’t think they were good enough to share. It turns out, they were perfect!
If I were in the flower business today, I would charge more for the unique rareness of these crooked beauties!
