Be a Someone
She Loves Her Flowers, But Not In Vases
Photo by Laura Seaman on Unsplash
“Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate” (Proverbs 31:31).
There’s no doubt my love of flowers and of painting them were great gifts from my beautiful Mom. In the Summer, you could look out any one of our Michigan farmhouse windows and see rows and mounds of color reaching up toward the sun. If you were lucky enough to have chosen the right window, you might see her bent down amidst the glorious color, weeding or transplanting her precious gifts. She couldn’t get enough of the miracle of their growth and would spend hours in the sunshine along with the butterflies, tending to each variety of daisy, cosmos, poppy and zinnia, not to mention her enormous sunflower and herb gardens. Hummingbirds regarded her as one of the flowers and would often perch on her shoulder and rest there awhile.
Despite my Mom’s love for flowers we never had them in the house. She kept them intact in the garden to breathe the heavenly air in their dwelling as long as God deemed fit. Conversely, I’ve always loved a cutting garden and adore having fresh flowers in my home regularly.
I remember one of my last visits to the farm in late Autumn when my Mom still had her sight and could enjoy the late blooming orange marigolds that had persisted through Fall to keep her garden looking bright. It was my birthday and as always when I pulled up into the yard, she was in the house at the kitchen table painting flowers. She came out to greet me with open arms. As I followed her through the back door and up the two steps to the kitchen, I spied a flower arrangement on the kitchen table amongst her paints and brushes. She had picked them early and put them in a simple jar with curled ribbon.
“These miracles are for you,” she said. I thought she had said “miracles.”
“Marigolds,” she smiled. She handed me the jar and I was overjoyed by the thought of her cutting her garden flowers especially for me.
She loves her flowers, but not in vases; trusts they’ll thrive from our Lord’s gazes.
I love my flowers in simple vases, with curled ribbon for special places.
She knows I do.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I miss you and love you forever.
Elizabeth
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About the Author
Elizabeth Tichvon is a Catholic writer and Consecrated Marian Catechist under the Direction of His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke. Always faithful to the Magisterium, she spreads and defends the Catholic faith as a true witness of Christ, confessing the name of Jesus boldly, never ashamed of the Cross.
Elizabeth became aware of the need for the New Evangelization while in the two years of her formation as a Marian Catechist and wrote over 200 published meditations on Sacred Scripture from the daily Liturgy of the Word for various Catholic websites, and following Jesus' example, now teaches through her own parables so that by sharing her stories through social media, might bring others closer to the heart of Christ. She is currently a regular columnist at Catholic365 and as a Marian Catechist, her spiritual life is the foundation of her writing.
She completed UCLA's Graduate Program With Honors and worked as a Paralegal for 32 years before retiring from Chrysler's Office of the General Counsel in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
