I used to be one of those girls that didn't believe in getting flowers. I thought they were a waste of money. You buy them, they sit somewhere for a little while and then die. The end. But I've learned that they can be so much more than that. Flowers are hope, and love and beauty. They are encouragement in bad times and celebration in good. Flowers have a power like nothing else I've ever found, and I want to share why.
Halfway into the second semester of my sophomore year in college I had a hurdle accident. By hurdle, I mean I'm on the track team and I actually run the hurdles. I was at practice running 200 meter repeats over hurdles, which is actually one of my favorite workouts, and I tripped coming into a hurdle. I hit the hurdle with my chest and hit the ground with my face. Let's just say I came out of it with a lot of broken teeth.
They rushed me to the dentist and he fixed me up (Dr.Bolding is a gift from God), but for a while I had temporary teeth and couldn't eat anything solid. In the words of a teammate, "Raianne has a special diet, she only eats track." Those first couple weeks were the worst. I had terrible whiplash from smashing my face into the ground at a relatively high speed, as well as a slightly chipped clavicle from hitting my chest off the hurdle. My face was terribly scratched up and my mouth was swollen from the surgeries. It was a rough time.
The worst day though, was about a week after my accident. I was going with my incredible trainer, Ben, to get x-rays on my chest to make sure I hadn't broken or fractured my clavicle. It was after my first real day back to all my classes in my roughened physical appearance. That meant it was filled with explanations of why my face was covered in cuts and slathered with neosporin, and why my lips looked like I'd had botox. Not your ideal situation? Mine either. Halfway through getting the x-rays done and having to wear that heavy lead bib which hurt my clavicle and whiplashed body, my pain meds wore off. Needless to say it was a horrible.
When I finally got back to my room, I was defeated. I wanted to cry from the pain and exhaustion, and the wreck that was my present situation. But when I got to my room, there in front of my door was a bouquet of flowers, a milkshake (because let's face it I couldn't eat much else) and a little card that said, "know you are so loved." And I cried. Because it was exactly what I needed. I needed those flowers to remind me that there was still beauty, and love, and hope in life. It still shined even in the darkness I was in. I don't know who left me those flowers, and I'm not sure I ever really want to know, but they are the reason I made it through that day.
Those flowers are now framed in my room and hang right above my desk. Whenever I sit down to work I am reminded that I am so loved. From then on I've been a believer in the power of flowers. One of my best friends and I have an unspoken rule that whenever we go to Walmart together we get each other flowers. They're only like six bucks and they last for weeks.
What I've started doing is sharing my flowers, a few at a time. When I know that someone is struggling to see the light in their darkness I like to pick a couple flowers out of my bouquet on my desk. I'll grab a cup to stick them in and leave it by that person's door with a little card to remind them how loved they are. I love hearing them talk to other people or hit up Facebook, talking about how those flowers made their whole day.
And I smile to myself because that was the point. That is the power that flowers have. Yeah, a card can make you smile for a few moments, but flowers sit on your desk and make you smile for weeks. They're a reminder of God even in the worst of times. They show his love, his gentleness, his beauty and above all, they remind you that he is still good. Even in the hard times, God is still good and that is a powerful message. So if you're ever in need of a way to brighten someone's day, swing by Walmart and grab a bouquet of flowers. They'll never expect it, and they'll be deeply touched by it.
**Author's note: If you're wondering if I'm still running hurdles, I am. In fact, once I recovered from my whiplash I was able to compete again that season. I set a person record in both sets of hurdles and am still very much in love with hurdling. Every hurdler takes falls, what's important is that you get back up after them and try again.
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