On a trip to the Hill Country African Violets and Nursery I took various photographs of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. This one is a photo of a Hibiscus (Rose of China) variety. The nursery is located in Boerne off of I-10 West. The minute I set foot on its colorful and most spectacular grounds I felt like I was in heaven. There was green foliage everywhere and flowers galore. The nursery has eleven green houses each with a particular type of plant. One is filled with Orchids, one has African Violets while another is filled with ferns, and more. I would recommend paying a visit to this wondrous heaven especially in the Springtime when everything is so lush and green.
I am tempted to paint this flower in pastel. Don't you just want to feel it's bright velvety petals and thank God for this simple precious little gift? John MacMurray wrote a book called The Call of Creation: Nature's Invitation to Worship. Although, I have not read the book or seen it, (but I will soon) I like his title of the book. I like that he considers creation to be an invitation to worship God. I like to think that God is calling me, inviting me to him everytime I breath in the freshness, fragrance, beauty, and green around me. I have always found his peace in nature since I was a little girl. I used to sit on the front porch and watch the ants go by and make up little stories about them. I wondered, "Where are you going little ant"? I used to just sit and listen to the music of the birds, and the wind wispering in my ear telling me secrets. Secrets about the outside world and all its grandeur and how God gave all this to me because I appreciated it deep in my heart, so much so that it made tears come to my eyes. He said to me one day , "Ruby I give you peace, I give you the wind, the trees, the birds, the flowers, the animals, and much more because I love you". Everytime I am struggling or going through some turmoil I can simply go outside and look down at a leaf and observe its' colors, its' arteries, its' stems, its' smell, its' freshness and somehow God says, "Ruby everything is going to be fine, this problem, this turmoil is only a speck of sand in the great wide ocean of life." Again I weep, and go on. Thank you Lord for this gift of nature. Thank you for showing your beautiful self through the flowers and streams of water teeming with life.
