Sprouting peony bush a special birthday present
"I will give you the desire of your heart"
-Psalm 37:4 (NIV)\
As I opened the living room blinds to welcome the day, I noticed a beautiful blossom forming on my neighbor's flowering bush.
"It's my birthday week and there's my special flower," I thought to myself.
This time each year, I like watching for the peony bushes to bloom. It doesn't take much for the large, round flowers, complemented by their greenery, to capture my awareness from clear across the street. The light pink blossoms with their huge petals are my favorites.
My fascination with this flower started in my childhood. Each year as I rode my bike around our circular flower garden, I noticed a special bush in the corner of the yard that wore beautiful, large, pink flowers on it. These delicate blossoms somehow seemed to stick in my memory after that.
In my teens, my mother started a tradition where, for my birthday, she would leave me a gift on the kitchen table along with a vase overflowing with her bright, pink peonies.
At first sight, I recognized them right away. I'd seen them countless times as I rode around the circle. But now these flowers had a special meaning, because they only bloomed a week or so before my birthday, and mom hand-picked them especially for the occasion.
As the tradition continued, I looked forward to seeing that vase of pink peonies accompany my birthday gift. But I was saddened when, 10 years or so into the tradition, my mother passed away taking my special birthday bouquet with her.
The next year, my father decided to place the house up for sale. This news triggered the thought of my favorite flowering bush being permanently gone from sight. It was more than I could bear.
A few days later I came up with the idea to take a piece of root from the bush and transplant it in my own yard. The only problem was, I didn't possess a green thumb. Even my few house plants didn't last very long. But I had to do something. My heart was burning with desire to see my special birthday bouquet live on. So I picked a special spot in the corner of my front yard and planted the roots.
The following year, just before my birthday, I watched with anticipation, but nothing came up. Not even a sprout. Another year or so went by and still nothing happened. Disappointed, I gave up on ever seeing my bouquet.
The following spring I was getting ready to throw down some flower seeds in the spot where I'd transplanted my bush, when I noticed some dark red sprouts coming out of the ground. It was my bush pushing through the soil and coming to life.
After that, each year at the time of my birthday, I felt God and mom were smiling down on me. I got the joy of a whole bush full of my special birthday bouquet.
It warmed my soul to realize that God really cares about the desires of our hearts. Even something as simple as a special birthday bouquet.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.