One White Flower

Every building in our complex has 2 front doors, each painted brick red. Each door has 2 tall bushes, one on each side of the small porch, like parentheses. Each bush is now in full bloom, loaded with purple flowers. Some of the flowers are a reddish purple, the rest are a bluish purple.

You would think all these colors would clash, but surprisingly, they work well together. I have no idea what type of flowering bushes these are. There is no particular fragrance to the flowers, but they are plentiful, attract all sorts of bees from honey to bumble, and are very pretty.

Yesterday as Sugar and I were taking a short walk, I discovered that the bush to the left of the far door on the next building had one lone white flower near the bottom of the bush. I had to look closely to make sure the light wasn't playing tricks. Sure enough, one white blossom, tucked in amongst the leaves, gently nodding. Its white purity seemed so fresh and welcome among all that purple.

It reminded me of the story in Luke 17 of the ten lepers that came to Jesus for healing. He told them to present themselves to the appropriate authorities, the priests, and as they headed there, they were healed. One of them, realizing what had happened, ran back to Jesus to thank him. One. How refreshing that must have seemed. What a beautiful contrast to the "norm" around him. Gently and quietly tucked amongst the hecticness of life was one soul who remembered to be grateful.

Every day as I pass that bush, I stop for a minute (Sugar doesn't mind - there's lots to investigate) and thank God for his constant presence, for his keeping of me throughout the chemo process, that I didn't encounter the difficulties I saw others struggle with, that I am finished with this phase and regaining strength every day.

I still feel pretty purple inside, but maybe a tinge of white is starting to appear. I'll keep working on it.