Beauty Takes Pain

So, this is my first blog post ever. I am not a writer, but I often find myself wanting a place to put thoughts down, log the crazy dreams I have, talk about recipes I like, or post pictures of my broccoli sprouting up! So, here it is. My first blog and its about weeds.

Today I noticed possibly for the first time ever, beauty in our nasty, concrete parking lot at my office. This is the place I park my car everyday. And there before me, was a weed that had sprouted into a beautiful flower. Thistles can grow in the most harsh conditions, like in the cracks of concrete. I decided to cut a few of the lovely flowers and put them on display at my desk to bring some life into the office.

OUCH! Bad idea to do without the protection of gardening gloves. They have terribly prickly thorns on the stems that make them difficult to harvest. I somehow managed and boy was it worth it. They are a beautiful site to look at and a good reminder to me today that sometimes beauty takes pain. Now, ladies, I'm not talking about the pain you experience when you go to get your eye brows waxed. I'm talking about the kind of pain that happens when life happens. When the cracks seem to make their way into our seemingly perfect and privileged lives. I've seen a lot of this in the past couple of years. Maybe not always myself personally, but also to the people I love. All I can say is that somehow in all of that, something beautiful happens and I am thankful.

Speaking of thistles, this lovely flower also reminded me of the amazing work of the women at Magdalene, a residential community for women in Nashville with a history of drug abuse and prostitution. These incredible ladies started a line of natural bath and body products called Thistle Farms. The proceeds of these items go back into the program and provide opportunities to learn job skills, facilitate community, cooperation and responsibility. I love this example of how pain has brought these women together and they are creating with their own hands and the grace of the Lord, something beautiful.