Daisy Prophecies

I love daisies. They are such an unpretentious flower but they pop up almost anywhere spreading their offering of loveliness. There are far more exotic flowers, like the Bird of Paradise flower that has so many petals and colors, you just know God made that one just to use up all his scraps. There are flowers that have deeper, more evocative scents like the rose. There are some that are overbearingly tall like the sunflower, or incredibly small like the wild violet. So many scream for attention, but not the humble daisy. The daisy sprouts in the untended field and waves her petals modestly. And yet, it is the daisy that lovers choose to tell the future- she loves me she loves me not. With each petal plucked from the daisy, the hope of young love rises and falls.

But then, the daisy can be a malignant symbol too. When someone dies, he is said to be "pushing daisies." While this may be biologically accurate, it is just not the image I want conveyed when I look at a daisy.

But there it is- this simple flower that is given the power to determine romantic bonds or herald the loosening of mortal bonds. The quiet daisy would perhaps prefer to just be smiled at, as it smiles at us without so much duty imposed upon its fragile petals.

We all rebel against the sometimes overwhelming duties placed upon us, when all we really want to do is lift our face to the sun, and gather nectar for the bees, and bloom quietly in the field. And sometimes expectations are ridiculous, and roles are put upon us that we were not created to fulfill. Our tender stalks were never meant to carry the burdens we sometimes bend and break under. But I am reminded with each season of blooming and then blossoms dying that our fragility has a purpose. Without it, we might not be tempted to turn our face to the source of all strength, to the one who does hold love and life and death in His hand.

Isaiah 40:7-9 (New International Version)

⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."

⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, ^a]">[a]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"