If you have been on a highway anywhere in North Texas recently, you have likely noticed the pink and white flowers that my grandmother called “buttercups”.  During my years of working as a floral designer, I learned that these are actually Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosus Rosea). They bloom April through June across much of the state of Texas. The show that these little pink and white beauties have put on this year has been nothing less than spectacular!

I drive 820 West to and from my work at the church. I live right off of Marine Creek Parkway next to the Northwest Campus of Tarrant County College. The stretch I drive is not very long (11 miles- one-way), but the traffic is unbelievable at times! It is not so bad in the mornings, but it can be nearly impossible to navigate in the afternoons. I am convinced that without the help of Waze, there are days when I might never get home! Even with the help of Waze, I spend a good deal of time sitting on I-820.

On one of my more recent extended stops on the highway, I noticed an area near the intersection of I-35 and I-820. In contrast to much of the highway greens that remained blanketed in pink and white, this area was the home to green weeds. There were only two very small patches of the Evening Primrose. The contrast between this area and the areas of beauty made me think about the church.

We are indeed beautiful together, and we love being that way! Yet, we cannot stay in that place and (at the same time) answer God’s call on our individual lives. Life is lived in the middle of the weeds. The weeds have the ability to choke out the beauty. Life is imperfect and messy. When we step out there, God calls us to take all that He has given us. God sends us to be for the world patches of faith, hope, love and joy. We must truly live out our call to ministry. We are the faces, hands and voices of Christ for the world. We have the assurance of God’s unfailing grace to remind us that, with God’s help, we can make a difference in this world.

Oh. By the way…the pink and white flowers are weeds, too!