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I See Violets
One early Spring morning, my husband and I decided to build a rock garden. Driving to a nearby woods, we found the rocks we needed and took them home.
I watched as my husband set them in place and then sifted fine black soil around them. When he had finished he looked up and asked, “Now, what shall we plant?”
“Violets would be pretty in that front row,” I suggested. “Were there any violets back there in the woods?”
My husband looked blank. “I don’t really know,” he said, “I don’t remember seeing any.”
We decided to go back and look. And when we reached the spot where we had found the rocks, we saw lovely blue violets everywhere - clustered around the base of a large tree, peeking from beneath fallen leaves . . .
“Strange we didn’t see them before,” I remarked.
My husband smiled. “Maybe it was because we weren’t looking for violets - only rocks.”
His remark set me thinking. Wasn’t it true that people generally do find what they are looking for? If we go around pessimistically looking for trouble, we shall surely find it. If we look for the worst in other people we find it - selfishness, rudeness, and so on. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that if, by trusting in God’s love and care, I look for good to happen in my life, things have a way of turning out right for me. And if I look for the best in my fellow-man, I bring out the best in him.
Yes, if we look for the hard things in life, for the rocks, we find rocks. I prefer to look for violets.
By Freda K. Routh
Image shown: Flowering plant known as the Common Blue Violet, scientific name Viola sororia; also known as common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.
Image credit: Photograph by Bernt Fransson.
One early Spring morning, my husband and I decided to build a rock garden. Driving to a nearby woods, we found the rocks we needed and took them home.
I watched as my husband set them in place and then sifted fine black soil around them. When he had finished he looked up and asked, “Now, what shall we plant?”
“Violets would be pretty in that front row,” I suggested. “Were there any violets back there in the woods?”
My husband looked blank. “I don’t really know,” he said, “I don’t remember seeing any.”
We decided to go back and look. And when we reached the spot where we had found the rocks, we saw lovely blue violets everywhere - clustered around the base of a large tree, peeking from beneath fallen leaves . . .
“Strange we didn’t see them before,” I remarked.
My husband smiled. “Maybe it was because we weren’t looking for violets - only rocks.”
His remark set me thinking. Wasn’t it true that people generally do find what they are looking for? If we go around pessimistically looking for trouble, we shall surely find it. If we look for the worst in other people we find it - selfishness, rudeness, and so on. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that if, by trusting in God’s love and care, I look for good to happen in my life, things have a way of turning out right for me. And if I look for the best in my fellow-man, I bring out the best in him.
Yes, if we look for the hard things in life, for the rocks, we find rocks. I prefer to look for violets.
By Freda K. Routh
Image shown: Flowering plant known as the Common Blue Violet, scientific name Viola sororia; also known as common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.
Image credit: Photograph by Bernt Fransson.
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