Hyacinths

Last week I was having a particularly sad day and my sister took me to the Botanical Gardens downtown.  The plants and flowers did much to lift my heart, not to mention all the cute families out for walks and all the newly displayed Christmas decor.  It was a beautiful day in this incredible indian summer we've had.  The thing that did my heart the most good, was turning a corner in the gardens and finding this proverb on display:

This little proverb has saved my heart on many a days.  I first heard it when I worked at the BYU travel office.  My boss, and bestie, Mary would quote it to me as we spent 8 hour days answering angry phones and taping receipts to pieces of paper.  We decided to try and find as many hyacinths for our souls as possible to make each day better.  

This proverb is what made us decide to cut snowflakes in our down time to decorate the office instead of trying to study for an upcoming test.  It's what made me spend a little bit more money to buy Care Bear checks instead of the cheap boring ones.  It is what runs through my head when I talk myself into buying a cute pair of shoes instead of leaving the money in my bank account.  And it is always always what I say to myself as I buy hundreds of dollars worth of plane tickets to visit home or good friends or to see a new place in this beautiful world God has made for us.

Sometimes when I look back on my life, I feel like I've walked through fields and fields of hyacinths.  I am so blessed.  And very very happy.