The beauty of variety!

…flowers…adorn our lanes, fields and fells, and…smile upon us and cheer and bless us in our country rambles…the lovely blossoms…kiss the clear brooks and mountain wells…

James Rigg

Then I looked, and there was a great number of people. There were so many people that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Revelation 7:9 IC B

One of the aspects of spring and summer that I very much appreciate is the incredible variety of shapes and colors of flowers!  This is true when hiking in the mountains, desert, or along the seashore yet also true when I’m walking in neighborhoods where a variety of gardens and yards are home to many kinds of plants and flowers.  From tiny little blossoms on ground cover to enormous showy blossoms bigger than my hand!  Every color is represented too…from pure white iridescent clematis blooms to deep dark chocolatey colored petunias. Whether on hikes on walks, it’s so wonderful to encounter species of flowers that I’ve never seen before!

 You know, God loves variety…and not just in flowers. Today’s verse is about Paul’s divine vision of heaven where the peoples of earth are all before Jesus. People from everywhere! People of all colors, nationalities, and different in many other ways. No doubt that there are those that were skinny or plump, short or tall, uneducated or educated, and every other variance. Yet all were created by God to be uniquely loved and invited to know Jesus, the bridge to heaven.

If only we could look at all people like I look at flowers, appreciating and celebrating the distinctions. Regarding all with an endless love and interest just as God sees us. So, today, when you see someone who looks, acts, or thinks differently than you, look at them through God’s lense of love and see beauty!