Pansies suffer from an unfortunate name. This frail-looking but strong flower can survive being smashed by snow and frozen by cold. And still pansies bloom on.
As the January snow in my garden has melted over the past few weeks, the pansies I planted last fall are bravely blooming. Surely they will get covered by snow again, and they will emerge again, tough and beautiful. They will continue through the spring, until the heat of the summer gets to be too much for their cool-loving constitution.
The happy face of pansies make me smile, but it is their tenacious nature that make me take notice and aspire to be more pansy-like. When I feel snowed-under, hidden, in a quiet season, I know that there is still potential for beauty and strength to emerge from my soul. When my soul feels frozen with the chill of darkness, perhaps I am unable to rally strength from within myself, but I do have access to God’s Spirit, to unfold warmth and life into my days.
Today, on a warm day at the end of January, I’ll enjoy the blooming pansies. And I will draw encouragement from their tenacious, determined smiles.
Flowers For Your Soul 