Mud Lilies

I keep looking at this photo because I am stunned that anything pretty could grow in this muck (and even you probably can't tell that there are some rather stunning water lilies in the photo, but I was there so I can vouch for them!).

I am not one for clichés or cute sayings; generally I think they gloss over the emotion and reality of a situation. For instance, the saying "Bloom where you are planted" comes to mind, but it doesn't take into account the blood, sweat and tears that are sometimes required to do that very thing. Or "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" - there's another saying that completely denies the fact that when life gives you lemons, it just plain sucks. It's sour. It's icky.

And yet... there is something amazing about people who overcome their circumstances, who remain positive when the odds are stacked against them, who reflect Jesus and His light and love in a dark and perverse world. In short, mud lilies.

It's easy to be a water lily, but I would venture to say that a mud lily is more beautiful because it stands in sharp contrast to its surroundings. There's a lesson to be learned somewhere in that.