Wildflowers

Another week come and gone...I can't believe it.  I went hiking this weekend by myself.  I've never been one to go alone, but lately I feel like it has been very much needed to have my own time to think and reflect.  I hiked along the beach to my favorite spot where the Bay opens up to the Icy Strait and you can see for miles and miles on a clear day.  I like to sit there and watch the whales and listen to the eagles while my hair blows in the wind and there isn't anyone around to distract me.

I've been thinking about something this past week, mostly because of a conversation that I had with Kelly.  Up here in Alaska, these last couple of days have been "invasive plant (weed) awareness days" and every morning I get an email that has a picture of a weed that is not supposed to be growing in the area.  What I've noticed is that these plants are mostly beautiful wildflowers that apparently are okay to get rid of.  My question is - who gets to decide what is a weed?  Who has the right to put a label on something and to determine what is okay and what is not?  If I had it my way, my whole backyard would be full of wildflowers!  Even if they are "weeds", that would make me a very happy girl.

My thoughts didn't just dwell on weeds and flowers, but this attitude of labeling and making judgements is so prevalent and I'm just a little sick of it.  I have been having a rough time lately because of various labels that have been placed on me since I got here.  We all seem to have in our minds this preconceived idea of what is good and what is not and it can be so destructive.  We are all special and beautiful to our maker.  We all have the ability to bless and to uplift.  We all have something to offer and we were all created to be different.  I was walking through a field of wildflowers today and I was just thinking to myself "you may not belong but you have the ability to bring beauty and happiness to an otherwise dreary world."  If I had to be a plant, I would choose to be a wildflower!