more than tiny flowers

I write so many journal entries in my head but they never seem to make it to paper. Here's one I remembered after talking to my sister two nights ago. Short and sweet.
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My sister, she could always find the tiniest flowers.

She never brought my mom big bouquets of flowers like I did-- no, she'd somehow find the smallest flower there was, pick it with her tiny hands and present it with a humble gesture of love. I can still see my mom's smile and hear my dad's little chuckle as he, too, disbelieved that she could manage to find such a small, lovely treasure.

It didn't matter where we were; we could be at the beach, in the desert, in the city or near a river and she'd somehow find a tiny flower. She has a gift for this sort of thing.

I remember being at Magnolia Beach one summer and she went off on her own for a while. I, of course, was probably being too loud and down by the water or doing something bold and daring. While my sister, she was always so delicate and sweet. She was dainty and would float along always being run over by her older sister. She was the little "Queen of the Lanterns" and I was "Dyanamite" as Dad called me.

Well, time passed and here she came with this grin on her face. A little angel offering a flower so small you had to squint to see it. It was one of those flowers that needed to be taped down in your journal, otherwise you'd never appreciate it's beauty as it'd be swept away by just about anything. She handed it to my Granny and looked up at her with those big green/blue eyes that so resemble Mom's.

I was always amazed by the intricate and strikingly beautiful flowers she would uncover as they seemed to be hidden away. My dad always said it was because she was closer to the ground than all of us. I think it's because she looked for them.

Besides little flowers, she also always managed to find heart-shaped rocks. This was another gift of her's. Anytime we went camping or to the beach, she'd stumble upon a rock that nevertheless resembled a heart. Growing up, I loved this about her. I don't think I appreciated her as I do today, but I always knew that she had something special. A gift to find beauty and share it with others.

This is something I have always tried to do, as well. I think it's something that our parents passed down to us. Whether it be dad taking us outside or mom writing poetry with us, we grew up with parents who had free spirits.

Beauty is something that I am always on the look-out for. And you know, I believe that I learned it from my four year old sister. Perhaps I had always hunted for beauty as well, but she taught me to look in the most unlikely places. She taught me to look even when no one else is looking. And, she taught me that you just have to look.

I see this in my walk with the Lord. He has all these treasures hidden, but they're not so hidden that we can't find them. All we have to do is look. He has more than just tiny flowers hidden away for us. It's time to go looking...

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.