I am quick to see God in so many places. Or at least I have been. But now I am questioning how well I am doing faith-wise and allowing myself to be open to seeing Him at work. Sure, the big things I think I can still see. But am I missing many of the little things?
The other morning I had to fix a trash can that the raccoons got into overnight. I didn’t really clean it up, but I did pick up the can and put the lid back on and tell myself I’d get to it later. I drove Nora to swimming. I got home and sometime in the next 2 hours I packed up the car with things for the day. I went to the pool and picked Nora back up. I got out of the car and then I saw it:
Three roses placed on my garbage can. The same one that the raccoons had gotten into.
I was perplexed. I was confused. I was puzzled. I then proceeded with thinking about the who and the why. I spent all efforts on human-related explanations. At no point did I allow myself to consider a divine grace. I left them on the trash can. Because unexplained “garbage roses” were a bit too odd to want to pick up.
Later in the day, after having told Ryan about it and still puzzling over their providence, I was like “Maybe today is ‘National leave flowers on a garbage can day’.” I told Ryan and he said he had the same thought so he went around and looked at other garbage cans to see if they had any flowers and saw none. (Nora always mentions weird “holidays” she reads about in her Highlights magazine which is perhaps why I had this thought.)
I moved on with my day. I waited for a weird text to come from anyone explaining the origin of the flowers. I took the 3 girls paddleboarding with Bridgette. During our time I mentioned the Garbage Roses. She immediately said: “You know who leaves roses for people, right?”
St. Rita of Cascia popped into my head but I hesitantly said the safe guess: “Mary?”.
“St. Therese!,” she said. St. Therese of Lisieux is her favorite saint so she would know.
And it was only at that point did I actually consider a divine origin for these 3 flowers. How odd! How come I was previously so quick to discount a divine origin that the fact that there could be a divine explanation not even occur to me? In the past I would see God in the smallest and oddest of places and mention it to Ryan and he would think I was crazy and I’d shrug off his reaction and know in my heart that God was in that thing.
But here in front of me was a more obvious act of love and instead I pondered for a rational explanation. Most of me still thinks that the origins were human (I’m still waiting for that person to come to me and admit it was them). I am still looking for the rational explanation in the situation rather than allowing myself to have an open heart and mind and accept that perhaps I was sent a gift from a divine origin.
Why? Why would this happen? …I think thinking that stops me from considering it. It is just so flat out odd. But isn’t that how God works in beautiful, mysterious ways? Why wouldn’t these Garbage Roses be one of those ways? I want to know the reason — but what reason need there be than it’s a simple act of love?
I got home from paddleboarding and rescued the flowers from the garbage can. I placed them in a vase and placed the vase in the kitchen. I was still afraid of these roses so I didn’t smell them. But at some point during the day I did smell them. They smelled weak and plain. (But perhaps that’s just due to my post-COVID destroyed sense of smell.) I also secretly waited for them to perk back up from having laid out in the sun and heat to “prove” they were divine roses and they did bounce back but not like crazy perfect.
I am still confused, perplexed, puzzled. But now I have been able to see God in them better than I did before. Whether their origin was human or divine, does it matter? If human then it was a simple act of love, If divine it was a simple act of love. (…though also an amazing occurrence and if I knew for certain I’d be like “Look at my God-given Garbage Can Roses!!! St. Therese gave them to me!” …though it also put me in fear that something bad might happen but that these were a means of protection for my three girls… among other frazzled thoughts…)
So in 3 garbage can roses I was at least gifted a pause in my day-to-day. I was gifted time to reflect on if I have been chugging along well with keeping God at the front of my thoughts or if I have been going along with my eyes and heart closed to God’s work and His ways. My inattention to things was brought to the fore and I was lovingly nudged to seeing Him in the small ways that He works and that His presence is truly everywhere. That is a gift.
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Now about these roses… The logical explanation is that a person was like: “Let me give them 3 roses. I will go halfway up their driveway and place them on the garbage can because going all the way to the steps is too far and makes too much sense. And the porch is just out of the question because that is way too logical. And leaving some sort of explanation isn’t necessary. I love the mystery! They will be so confused! I am hilarious.”
So really if I consider the logical, rational explanation it really drives me towards the divine explanation. A simple placement of roses on a garbage can reminding me that the chore I have to do of cleaning up after the raccoon can be an act of love for my family. It reminds me that I am grateful for my family. And that I must constantly trust that Nora, Ruth, and Mabel are in God’s loving care and so place them there confident in that love.
So whether it was human, St. Rita, Mary, St. Therese or some other unknown entity who graced us with these garbage can roses, I am thankful and grateful and appreciative – which is exactly how I am called to be in all things in life. So thank you God for the gift of these garbage roses and the reminder to seek you and see you in all things.
Give God Your Yes 