Gray… so much gray.

Gray clouds in a gray sky.

Gray street, gray sidewalk, gray garage door.

Even my attitude was awash in gray as I adjusted my mask and trudged down the street, knowing I would have to wait in a long, pandemic-induced line before I was allowed to enter the tiny grocery store.

But then a beautiful flash of violet caught my eye. One lone morning glory with two perfectly heart-shaped green leaves had pushed its way through the crack between a gray metal garage door and an ugly cement pillar.

A tiny bit of glory flourishing in the midst of all the gray.

The pretty little morning glory reminded me of several songs in the book of Psalms that compare a righteous person to flourishing plants and trees. In fact, reading through these Psalms is almost like taking a stroll through my favorite garden shop. If I am planted in the house of God (Ps. 92:12-13), and trust in his unfailing love (Ps. 52:8), if I am righteous (Ps. 72:7), and I fear the Lord (Ps. 115), I can be described as grasses, crops, or grains, an olive tree, or a palm, cedar, laurel, bay or green tree, depending on the translation.

But it doesn’t really matter which species of flora is portrayed; the point of these Psalms is the flourishing. It’s how God wants us to live, and it’s how he wants to bless us. With God on our side, not only can we flourish in a forest of like-minded believers, we can also flourish as a lone palm tree planted on a desert beach.

Or, like the little violet beauty with the heart-shaped leaves that brightened my walk on a dreary morning, God can make our lives flourish even in the midst of hard times. 

Because His desire is to shine glory in the gray.