This is a cardoon.
A scraggly-looking plant.
For more than 2 years now,
I’ve let this thing grow in my garden.
Unremarkable, really,
until mid-summer
when it shows off by shooting upward a spiky, purple flower.
Here’s the flower from last year.
Cool, isn’t it?
I call it a punk-rock flower.
Thing about this cardoon,
It looks scraggly most of the time.
Leaves,
some soft as lamb’s ear,
other’s prickly like a briar bush,
jut out here and there.
I’m always cutting leaves out of my mowing path.
And often,
the lower leaves look exhausted,
so I excuse them from life with my clippers.
Regardless of my disregard for it most days,
the cardoon is faithful
and provides the splendor of a purple tufted crown
for our viewing pleasure
a couple of weeks in June and July.
It’s almost time again.
A firm, artichoke-like bud has formed.
Standing at about 5 and a half feet tall,
it will probably reach a good 6 and a half feet before opening.
I am 5’2″
so I can’t see the top of the bud this year.
To remedy this problem,
I took a picture while holding my camera above my head.
What I saw
when looking at the camera’s instant capture
completely floored me.
It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
At eye-level,
this plant is unimpressive
and appears little more than a weed.
But from God’s view,
it is perfect
in it’s design.
The symmetry,
invisible to a level passerby,
is remarkable.
There is a purpose for every single “jut” of a leaf.
Things I saw as random and awkward,
are actually specifically engineered
by The Master’s Hand
to connect to the leaf above
in a grand design
that is a beauty
unlike any
I could have seen
with my limited perception.
Life is like that sometimes.
Things seem to happen
or go on around us
that make no sense.
Sometimes circumstances
or situations
we find ourselves in
or crawling out of
don’t seem to have a purpose.
And
let’s face it,
life is hard.
Chaotic seeming even.
There are highs and lows
and often it feels like they happen simultaneously.
But then I see this cardoon
as He sees this same cardoon
and I realize
that what I see as mess
and chaos
and disorganization,
in disregard,
Our Heavenly Father sees as
beauty
and perfection
and formulation
in satisfaction.
He sees His complete creation
in it’s complete imperfection.
And He is pleased.
I believe that He sees me in the same way.
Not the jutting leaves of my choices
or the exhaustion of my journey.
He doesn’t see me weary
or in the way
or unimpressive.
And He doesn’t save His love
only for the times
when I send Him a flower head.
He sees me whole
from beginning to end
and finds me quite remarkable.
The cardoon.
It’s my favorite plant in the garden!
the toenail 