Dear Reader:

Recently, while working in the garden, I started thinking about the variety of flowers and plants blooming away. How lucky we are to live in a world where diversity reigns over “sameness.”

Take the two morning glories in the title photos….by chance…one planter has ended up with purple morning glories, while the other planter is producing the creme and pink versions…Anne and I just randomly planted the seedlings thinking they were all purple or periwinkle colors. But God knew better…

When I discovered the (following) devotional yesterday it summed up exactly my thoughts on the power and beauty of diversity…but, also,  sadly… the flip side of distrust and fear when it comes to diverse cultures. Diversity is a word that has become quite subjective in today’s society. Yet God purposefully chose diversity over “sameness”…there must be a reason why?

Marantha Devotions: “God Likes Variety” Steve McMichael

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

“Have you ever noticed how diverse God’s creation is? There are multitudes of animals that are so different and diverse that they amaze scientists. There are millions of insects, all different. No two snowflakes are alike. Every individual on the earth is amazingly similar yet totally different. No two fingerprints are alike, no two people are alike.

Since God is the author of diversity, is should not surprise us that we, who are created in His image, would also like diversity. We all have different likes and dislikes. We do things differently and even think about things differently. This is part of what makes life so exciting. Just think how boring life would be if everyone liked only the same things.

There would only be one type of car and they would all be the same color. There would be only one style of clothes, everyone would dress alike, wear their hair alike, and would all eat the same foods. There would not be the variety of restaurants that we have today. What a boring place this earth would be. Diversity makes life interesting and keeps us from being bored literally to death.

If God likes diversity so much that He creates each of us so differently, don’t you think that He must have a reason for so doing? I know that He does, He wants us to be different, to like different things, different places, and different lifestyles. The reason is that we all, in our sum total, help to reveal the nature of God. No one individual is able to be a true, precise representation of God, but when all believers of all nations, races, creeds and cultures are put together, we get a better idea of what God is like.

What does this mean to the individual. It means that you are a very important part of the overall picture. You are not the picture, but you are created by God to be an individual to do your part of showing the world what God is like. You are created with a purpose.

…………………….

So until tomorrow…I like these thoughts on diversity….and I like being a part of something bigger than I can conceive…a piece of a puzzle that wouldn’t be complete… without you are me.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Let me share some of the diversity of life in my garden….come with me…

Yesterday I was sitting on the yellow bench and decided to take a panoramic shot from the back view of the backyard….it gave me a new sense of “newness”

* Some days I still have to pinch myself that all of this little piece of paradise in my front and back yards are real…my “real, true story” (ouch!) Please change that commercial, George Sink!

I hope you see why I love diversity so much in my garden and why I pray for acceptance and understanding of all  God’s children…together we make the world stronger, better, and more beautiful.

Yesterday was actually a pretty diverse day in itself…we had Mollie’s “sprinkle” shower starring the main man himself…Lachlan…and then I babysat Jakie and Eva Cate for John and Mandy to celebrate their 7th anniversary…so many memories and a perfect evening with a bright round moon and cool spring weather.

W.T. brought a whole, big box of John’s old lego sets and Eva Cate is having a ball with them…lots of castles and princesses.

Kaitlyn rode with Mandy and me to the shower and told us that Atticus and Pip are really hitting it off now…Rudy still maintains his “alpha” status as the oldest.

As a part of Brooke’s birthday…she and Lou (childhood friend from Winnsboro) flew to Washington, D.C. for the flower arrangements at the National Cathedral….let me just show you two as an example of the beauty of the flowers and this sacred place.

Sarah’s shower for Mollie was wonderful…so creative….she had thought of everything down to the last detail…let me share some of the memories with you to end the blog this evening…

…And the “man of the hour”, of course, was Lachlan. Living up to his Irish ancestry…Lachlan kept “swigging” away at his favorite bottle of choice…assisted by his “Auntie” Kaitlyn.