Surprised by Beauty

When we moved into this house, last August, our front patio was just a big patch of dirt with a large, nasty, poky aloe vera bush in it. I was actually planning on what kinds of flowers I would plant in it when spring came. Brent is toying with the ideas of a small vegetable garden also! Then, the beginning of January, we noticed some leafy green stalks protruding from the ground, where nothing had been for 5 months. At first, I thought they must be weeds, but as time progressed, i realized they must be some sort of bulb, that had died back completely during the late summer. Time progressed, and I started to recognize the leaves...but i couldn't put my finger on it. Then yesterday, as I was walking back towards the house, I noticed something. It had bloomed!! Imagine my surprise, as I see this:



I am so excited!! There are 5 more blooms yet to open, and 4 more plants! The bulbs probably need to be spread out, one plant is way huger than the others, so this fall, I will do some rearranging! It was just such a surprise to see something so beautiful come from nowhere. I never watered them, I never cultivated the soil, I never fertilized them. I didn't even know they were there. But they turned into something so beautiful, without me, without my help. Someone put those bulbs there a long time ago, and I get to see the results. I don't know. I'm weird like that! It just seems like God knew I needed that. It was a good object lesson to me. Even when I don't do everything I should, God is still working on me. Whether I take the time I should to pray, be in the Bible, whatever....He is still there, working on my heart, and my life. And there is always the potential that something beautiful will come of it. But then I know that next year, after I have replanted the bulbs, fertilized them, watered them, how much more beautiful they will be! The same goes for me.

Anyway....I couldn't stop taking pictures of that single Lily...





Also---I have started a new link list on my sidebar for knitting/crafty blogs or websites. Feel free to leave a comment with some of your favorites, and I can add them to the list!!