Mums are a popular fall flower here in the USA. (Claire, Gypsy and Patsy do you have mums in Australia and The Philippines?) They are bush-like and bloom in fall colors. I fail at them miserably.
Today, I noticed the many around me who seem to have success. On the drive home from visiting Mama(my Mum ), it seems many are able to keep gorgeous mums alive. They spruce up the downtown and the neighborhood.
Mum colors range from yellows and oranges to deep reds. There are some that are kind of a lilac pink. They compliment the changing leaves. They keep the landscape from looking too sad after summer blooms are finished.
For the brave souls who put out mums, they exhibit a certain courage and a lack of worry. They don't fret about the threat of frost or they would not buy them at all. Worry really is wasted. How many times do we not do something out of fear over what might happen, and we miss the beauty of the moment.
"Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear." -Cori Ten Boom
Cori Ten Boom survived the horrors of a concentration camp under Hitler's rule. Yet, every single time I see an old interview or read from her writings, there is a peace and a joy that radiates from her soul. She had survived the worst of man's inhumanity to man and she chose love over hate... forgiveness over bitterness.
Cori was like those who plant the mums in joy, without obsessing over the brevity of their season. The Bible guides us to take one day at a time, too. No need to lose the joy in this day because we fret over tomorrow.
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? -Matthew 6:25-26
I needed this today, and the lesson from those who plant mums.
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