Weeds and Flowers

It's not fair, Tayden thought as he pulled weeds out of the flower beds in front of his house. All my friends are at the water park today, but because I can't get the bandage on my foot wet, I'm stuck weeding. He thought of everything that had happened that week. First he cut his foot on a piece of glass and had to get stitches. Then his bike was stolen. And yesterday his best friend told him he couldn't come to Tayden's birthday party because his family would be on vacation then. What a horrible week, thought Tayden as he yanked another weed out of the ground. Later that day Grandpa came over and looked at the garden Tayden had been weeding. "You did a good job," said Grandpa. He pointed to one of the flower beds. "Those bright pink blossoms sure are pretty." Tayden looked at the flowers. "They must've just bloomed this afternoon. They weren't there when I weeded this morning." Grandpa laughed. "Actually, I saw them when I was here a few days ago. They're so bright, I'm surprised you missed them.""I guess I was too busy looking for weeds to notice them," said Tayden.Grandpa nodded. "It's funny how our eyes miss things like that sometimes when we're not actively looking for them." He scratched his head in thought. "That can happen in life too. Sometimes we only see the weeds in our lives--the bad things that happen to us. We're so busy fretting and complaining that we don't notice the flowers--the good things God has put in our lives." Wow! That sounds like me, thought Tayden as he recalled his thoughts earlier that day about what a bad week he'd had. "Life is far from perfect," said Grandpa. "Yet we have so much to be thankful for. We have the hope of eternal life with Jesus, who gave His life to save us and be with us forever. He fills our lives with love, grace, joy, and other blessings every day, even when things are hard. If we only focus on the bad things, we might miss the beautiful blooms of God's blessings."Tayden gave his grandfather a little smile. "Okay, Grandpa. I'll be on the lookout for the good things God has given me." –Hannah Banura