“This thing isn’t working out too well,” declared Mr. OTN after being jabbed in the side of the face for the umteenth time by a wayward piece of faux lavender.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with it.  I keep pushing the flowers back in place and they keep getting all messed up,” my answer, as I once again began rearranging the floral arrangement on our front door.

I loved THIS Spring Floral Arrangement.  I took pictures of it and blogged about it and lots of other people liked it too!  So what WAS wrong with it?

A couple of times I chalked up the mysteriously mutilated arrangement to inclement weather, high winds and rain . . . but then I would go out to the porch on a perfectly calm Spring day and find it all messed up again.

While fighting the daily battle with the mysteriously out-of-control flower arrangement, different people would stop by for a visit and when they did we would open the door really, REALLY wide so they could get through the opening without having to dodge around the wild branches sticking straight out from the door.  I would apologize, straighten everything up again and invite my friends inside.

You’d think I would’ve suspected something . . . the day I opened the front door and a bird whooshed right past my head into the dining room.  The bird was terrified and I wasn’t feeling too brave either (my first horror movie was The Birds) but after a chase and a scream and a lot of barking by the dogs, I opened the front door wide while we retreated to the back of the house, to wait for the bird to leave.  She did.

You’d think I would’ve suspected something . . . when I went out to clean up the front porch and it was littered with bits of dried leaves and twigs (in the Spring?), as well as a few birdy droppings.

Finally . . . there came the day when a very tall man rang the doorbell.  Hubby and I were expecting him so we went to the front door together and I did my usual thing of opening the door really, really wide so this stranger wouldn’t receive a poke to the eye as he came inside.

He didn’t step over the threshold though.  He pointed his finger at my once pretty floral arrangement (was he about to point out what an unholy mess it was?) and said,

“Is that a bird’s nest?”

And yes.  It was.  A sweet little bird’s nest built right into my flower arrangement.  Hidden from my too-short-to-see view behind the flowers in front.

We let it be after that and decided to wait until we were sure that the nest was empty.  I only hoped I hadn’t crushed any eggs in all my pushing and shoving and rearranging of flowers that would never stay in place.

Finally yesterday, when I felt that any baby birds would by now have safely flown the nest, I carefully began removing flowers to reveal this precious little nest (and . . . PHEW . . . no evidence of broken eggs!).  If I was thinking of doing something new and different for my summer door decor those ideas flew right out of my head as I realized that this was the best door arrangement ever!

I tucked couple of flowers back in to fill space around the nest and it was done!  It was enough.  It was and was PERFECT!

If I was a little impressed with my floral arrangement before this one far exceeds my own attempts at beauty.

Lessons learned:

Sometimes when frustrations come into our lives and we keep trying to “fix it” to no avail, it might be that God is in the midst of building something new.

Sometimes our very best attempts, the things we take pride in, are overshadowed by that which is simple.

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Sometimes the best gifts aren’t the showiest or the most expensive, but those that are absolutely free!

Finally. . . don’t be short-sighted (look up, look down, look all around) and don’t miss out on the wonder that surrounds you!

Blessings,