The Daffodil told me a Story!!

What an absolutely gorgeous day in the south.  It is hard to beat North Carolina on a beautiful spring day....(except maybe on a beautiful autumn day!!).  Even as much of a Duke Blue Devil fan as I am, I can actually say that those Carolina Blue skies are hard to beat.  The beautiful start to this day made it even easier to learn, and share, a lesson that was taught to me today by a daffodil.

I was at Sunday School this morning and was standing at the door of the High School classroom greeting the folks as they passed by the door.  The youth that I am privileged to teach were hanging out with me.  Up walks my sister holding a single daffodil.  As is her practice, she delivers "goodies" to everyone she meets on Sunday mornings prior to church.  Many times it is her homemade candies....sometimes it might be "store bought" goodies, but still "goodies" nonetheless.  So, today, when she walked up with this daffodil, I assumed that it was one of her "heart-gifts."   She handed me the beautiful "yellow and green" and she said..."I guess you know what it means, don't you?"  I first said "Yes",  thinking that I did actually know.  Our parents would have turned 91 and 81 this week. Well, actually, they did turn 91 and 81, but they had their party with millions in attendance at a location that I haven't been yet, but intend on going to some day.

So, my assumption was that this was a flower that my sister and I would use to remember momma.  But, that was not actually the meaning. She told me the story that this flower came from her flower garden, from bulbs that was given to her by our momma, who got the bulbs from her momma, who got the bulbs from her momma,  who got the bulbs from her momma.  So, the flower in my hand, came from some labor that was done probably 120-130 years ago.  My great-great grandma took the time to dig a hole somewhere over in Stanly County and plant a bulb that she got from somewhere???or someone???  Little did she know, or think, that over a century later, a person that had not even been born (or even thought about) would be able to take the fruits of her labor and use it as a lesson illustration for a group of High School students.  Hopefully, one, or more of those students will be able to pass the lesson down to generations yet to come.

I was able to tell them that there are always consequences to all of our actions....Good or Bad....Positive or Negative....Encouraging or Discouraging. Anything we do will have some influence on someone. Someone is always watching us.  They want (and maybe need) to see how we handle things, how we respond to trouble, how we display our character, how we lead our followers. What a great message, but what a humbling one as well.

Since this blog is focused on my motto.........

                          Building up Houses

                                       Building up Businesses

                                                            Building up Others    then.........                                                    

I must repeat the message that the daffodil told me today.  Everything that I do will have repercussions on those that follow along behind me.  Maybe my family members need to see me stand up for what I believe in when standing is the correct thing to do.  Maybe those kids in Sunday School need to see me show kindness and consideration while they live in a world that is so hard and hateful. Maybe my co-workers and customers need to see me be the right example in the workplace.  I need to work hard, prepare well and perform admirably.  This will assure me that I have done the best that I can, with what I have been given to work with. I need to make a difference when I can, and where I can, to whom I can!

I will complete this blog post with an illustration that my pastor gave this morning during his sermon.  He was speaking on the topic of "making a difference"  He told the story of a father and son walking down the beach, and they came upon a place in the sand where many starfish had washed ashore.  The young son looked at the multitude of starfish and was concerned about what he could do to help. He picked up one, then two, then three of the starfish and took them down to the water's edge and placed them back in the water.  His father, perhaps a little in a rush, told him to come on, that he couldn't throw all of the starfish back in the ocean.  There were simply too many!!  The little boy made a statement that we all should focus on.  He said "Daddy, I know that I can't put them all back, but I did make a big difference to those three that I did put back.!"  


So, remember...just like the lady who planted the daffodil over a century ago did not know what a blessing that her actions would be, we also may not know what we can do on a simple day-to-day basis that may "make a big difference" to someone else.