Pollen

At the Temple and Auditorium, the trees are in full bloom. The ornamental pear trees that line the parking lots are laden with white blossoms, giving off their abundant fragrance. It is lovely; a promise of shade in the hot, mid-west summer to come.

Yesterday, I noticed a sheltered area of the World Plaza where the wind had swirled a pile of these small white petals. In the middle of this collection sat a small child, playing with delight. Her mother, a young woman I knew when she was a student at Graceland, explained that they live in Arizona, and this was as close to snow as the little girl could get.

If this scene sounds lovely, it is…to a point. Besides the obvious beauty and promise there are also other effects. The pollen given off by these blossoms has my eyes irritated, inflamed and itchy. Several times I have noticed people, especially from one particular cultural group, who do not like the smell of these blossoms. As they pass through the trees, you can often see them holding a scarf across their faces, or holding their nostrils to avoid or minimize the offending fragrance.

Isn’t it interesting that something that is so welcome to so many; a scene of beauty, potential and promise, can be so irritating at the same time? And most interesting of all, sometimes both the beauty and the irritation are experienced by the same people!

How like new ideas this is. The Counsel to the Church, presented by President Stephen Veazey, holds potential and promise for some, and irritation and discomfort for others. For some, it provides both at the same time. Perhaps that is just the way it is in God’s world.

Today, may you experience the beauty and potential that is everywhere in life. If that potential also proves irritating or unsettling, try to live through it. Look for the small child that knows none of this, but plays with delight in the midst of it all. And above all, know you are blessed today.

Posted by Carman

Grace

This morning, all the trees in the forest stand with their arms extended, bearing grace. Some will look and not see grace, because the blessing is in the form of snow. Some will think, “But its cold and heavy. It pushes the branches down, and may permanently change the shape of young trees and even break old branches.”

All of that is true. The snow does have the potential to change the trees. Young saplings may indeed be modified by the weight on their branches, and some boughs that are old and tired or even dead but still hanging on may be brought down.

Yet, it is all a blessing, for in this way the forest is tested, modified and pruned. Then, the snow falls to the ground and provides protection for the roots. Eventually it melts and provides life giving nourishment to the tree. Our world is like that.

We are like those trees. Life’s cold winds and the accumulating years can often lay burdens in our arms that may seem cold, harsh and heavy to bear. The load will stretch and reshape us, and there is even a chance that we may break under its weight.

Life’s problems will definitely change us. Is it possible that those challenges are really an unrecognized form of grace?

Posted by Carman