Simply Soul Searching
HOW IS GOD LOVING ME – AND WHERE IS GOD LEADING ME?
“BUT ANYONE CAN DO THAT…”
While hiking on Meeks Mountain last weekend, I almost didn’t notice these tiny flowers, bravely rising from the hard, gray soil in the shelter of a large tree. They were a sweet little surprise for my journey, and I immediately thought of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, another sweet surprise from years ago…
Back in 2008, I had chosen Thérèse to be my guiding saint as part of a Spiritual Companioning class, to learn about her life and faith as I created a personal Rule of Life. But when I began reading about her spiritual way of being, I was disappointed to find that she is largely remembered for her “Little Flower” or “Little Way” of following Christ. With great love but poor health–she died at the age of 24–Thérèse had no visions of grandeur. She chose to simply live her life as a little flower, brightening the paths of others by being the small but loving, lovely gift God created her to be.
“But this love of mine, how to shew (show) it? Love needs to be proved by action. Well, even a little child can scatter flowers, to scent the throne-room with their fragrance; even a little child can sing, in its shrill treble, the great canticle of Love. That shall be my life, to scatter flowers–to miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word, always doing the tiniest things right, and doing it for love.” 1
“But that’s easy–anyone can do that,” I had thought.
How often I have been proven wrong! Over the years, St. Thérèse has mentored me in a number of ways. These tiny blossoms brought back some of those insights…
The flowers are living as God has created them to be, brightening the path with their pure white petals. How many hikers have passed by without noticing them? I am fairly certain no one has stopped to thank them! And still, they bloom.
~ When we feel unnoticed or unappreciated, may we remember that God has created us uniquely and wonderfully. By living and serving God in humility while letting our true lights shine, we experience the joy of authentic living, the integrity of spirit, and the peace of a life well-lived–even if no one but God notices.
Next to the majestic tree, these flowers are so very small; their impact in the world is negligible. They could easily be trampled on and no one except our Creator would know. But in God’s loving perspective, the size of their impact is not an indicator of their worth.
~ When we feel insignificant, may we bear in mind that the smallest gifts of beauty may bring about a blessing greater than we can imagine. We may never know the full impact of our kind, helpful, tender acts of generosity and love. For the right person, at the proper time, our gifts may be just what someone needs for encouragement or inspiration. The tiny flowers certainly impacted me! May we keep putting our goodness into the world, no matter how insignificant we may feel.
The cute little flowers are quite helpless against any threats that could come their way–storms or footsteps or icy frosts. They will never be able to defend themselves or help protect others. In her helplessness, St. Thérèse looked to the little flowers as examples of humble surrender, actually revealing to her the gifts of her great dependence on God.
“Holiness is a disposition of the heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God, aware of our weakness, and content–in the most audacious way–in his Fatherly goodness.”
“Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude.”
~ When we feel small and helpless–when our love is huge, but our impact and potential are limited–may the Little Flower inspire us but also relieve us. We need not be responsible for the world–but we can lovingly share each small gift of grace and beauty that God has graciously shared with us. We can be comforted to remember that we are not alone; we are brightening this path of life with many other “little flowers” in bloom all around us.
“If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflowers.”
Take care, dear friends–and keep blooming!
1 Knox, Autobiography, p. 237, quoted in Praying with Thérèse of Lisieux, by Joseph F. Schmidt, FSC (Copyright @1991 by St. Mary’s Press)
Other quotes were found at Therese of Lisieux
(Photo by Karen)
Simply Soul Searching 
“When we feel insignificant, may we bear in mind that the smallest gifts of beauty may bring about a blessing greater than we can imagine.” Love this! Thank you, Karen!
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