Think of the last wedding invitation you received in the mail. Imagine the envelope and the feeling you had when you first saw it. What made it stand out from the rest of the mail that day?

Perhaps it was the flourishes on the envelope, the fancy loops and lines that embellish your name and address to give it that formal appearance. While at first glance, the inked swirls may look random, the art of flourishing requires extensive practice and skill. Calligraphers and lettering artists learn to use pen nibs and brushes in just the right ways to turn words and letters into eye-catching works of art that stand out from the fonts we are used to seeing every day. Each stroke of the pen is expertly placed. After all, the bride and groom want to be sure we don’t toss their invitation with the ones inviting us to credit cards with amazing interest rates!

How interesting that, outside of calligraphy, we rarely hear the word “flourish” used as a noun. We say that we want our children to flourish, describe a garden as flourishing and equate a flourishing life with a successful one. But what if our lives are filled with flourishes from our Creator’s divine, knowing hand? Are our eyes catching them before we toss them out, in the interest of efficiency and moving on? 

I have a sense that God delights in adding flourishes to our lives, that each great thing God does for us wants nothing more than to get our attention and be named. Maybe flourish is a good, holy name.