Flowers make me happy.  I gravitate to green and nature. And my spirit lifts with fragrant aromas of blossoms around me.  So, in whatever house or apartment we are living in, I fill our small veranda with pots of greenery and scents.  It may sound funny but it is one of the small blessings that God gives to keep me going.

The other day I picked up a plant my friend had watched for me while we were on home assignment. It had flourished under her green thumb and filled the whole trunk of our small car as we transported it home. And last summer, just a few weeks after we returned to Japan, I took a 90 minute train trip to pick up another plant that another friend had taken care of for me.  I was quite the sight hauling that oversized plant home on the train. But I figured that the cost of the train ride was less than buying a new plant.

I think part of resilience in missionary life is finding aspects that you can build around you that give you joy. One of those facets for Tim is keeping up with his favorite baseball team. For me it is a mini jungle of flourishing green outside my window that grants daily beauty.

I know it is God alone who grants me what I need to make it the long haul serving cross culturally, but in His goodness and understanding of my frailty, He grants unimportant and temporal blessings of His creation to uphold me along the way.