Desert Flowers

by Christa Upton

Think of a desert.  What comes to mind?  Endless sand, wind, sun, cactus plants….  Camels plodding along, mirages, bones, death….

But did you know that there are tiny flowers in the desert, so tiny they can hardly be seen without a magnifying glass?  You can see them on this amazing DVD from Moody Science Classics:

Hidden Treasures DVD

It is surprising that such beauty can be found in an arid, unforgiving place like the desert.

A long-term illness such as my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) can feel like a desert—vast, brutal, lonely.  But even in the desert of MCS, tiny flowers can be found.

These “flowers” may come in the form of someone who lends a helping hand, a child’s laughter, or a beautiful sunset.  They may come as a free book on Kindle, a warm meal, a call from an old friend, or a good video.  I recently found a flower in my desert—a young person, practically a stranger, willing to listen to a middle-aged woman’s ramblings (mine) about life challenges with MCS.

Of course there are many deserts besides MCS.  Maybe you have found yourself in a desert of a trial—small or large, relatively short-term or quite long-term.

In the desert, searching for an end to the suffering, one can easily forget the flowers.  After all, while trudging through the desert, the “sand,” “heat,” and suffering are much easier to see than the nearly-invisible “flowers.”

But God is gracious to send us flowers even in our deserts.

If you are going through any kind of desert right now, have you encountered any “desert flowers”?  I would love to hear your comments!

Christa Upton       Black Hills Picture Books        PO Box 293      Custer, SD 57730