A flowery affair

It has been awhile since I last saw these daisies in the garden of my hall and while walking through it yesterday, I saw many of them blooming along the pavement and it was a lovely sight. I think I like flowers...but I am not sure if I like flowers for looking like flowers or for the ideas that flowers convey. Granted, they look pretty, elegant and are pleasant to behold; making themselves good subject for nature photography. But flowers, like many other created things, convey deeper meaning in life and even speak of our relationship and dependence on God. Taking photos of flowers have also created a greater sense of awareness for this. 

Nature is one thing that I have loved since being a child. I did not watch much television as a kid and I did not understand why anyone watches cartoon until I was nine years old - those were really fun stuff for a kid. Till date, I still enjoy watching some anime. But cartoon was never something in my life during my early days in existence- the only stuff I watched on the television then were wildlife documentaries and military stuff; and the stuff I read were encyclopaedias (talk about childhood - my poly classmates made me watch power rangers so that I can 'regain my childhood' at the age of 21; power rangers was really not part of my childhood). I grew up being intrigued with nature and military stuff (I was fascinated with fighter planes and fighting robots like Gundam), wanting to be either a wildlife researcher or a fighter pilot; I still would have tried for the latter if not for being colour blind - what can beat dogfighting manoeuvres for thrills? How I ended up with law is still a mystery. Anyway, back to the point: I love nature. Nature, apart from its beauty, terror, mystery and awe contains so much depth and speaks of the wonders of God. When you look at a star-filled night with shooting stars, it leaves you with a profound sense of being a minute being. How a seed is being formed, and then a flower forming from a seed is a mystery - not that it cannot be explained by science- but the force working behind the processes leading to all of these. 

The dependence of the flower on sunshine and rain speaks so much of our dependence on God. Can a flower cause the water to fall from heavens or make the sun shine on it? It is totally dependent on God and it is God that enables the flower to grow. We are no different - totally dependent on God with Him as the source of our life. King Solomon wrote: "[God] hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.". One thing that I have thoroughly enjoyed being in the UK is to see the changing faces of nature as the season passes by. During Autumn, I saw leaves turning red and dropping dead; winter brought about Snowdrop flowers flourishing along with Ruby Giant in beautiful batches of white and blue/purple (can't really tell) that were gorgeous looking amidst the snow. With Spring comes the Duffydil in its bright yellow array. God really makes things beautiful in His time - we only ruin things when we want things done according to our will and timing.

With photography, I am learning that timing for taking photos is very important as well - it is said that photography is all about capturing the light. The time of the day, the intensity of the sunshine, the angle of the sun all plays a role in determining the outcome of the photo. One has to know the appropriate time to capture the shot - there are things that no amount of editing can replicate. Again, some things are just more beautiful at the appropriate time and there is no point in rushing it or forcing an outcome - most certainly that it is not for us to glorify ourselves in our lives.

Flowers in their beauty and elegance can speak of great strength, courage and resilience in adverse circumstances. Jesus said that Solomon, even in all his glory, was not arrayed as the lilies of the field. I think that for Jesus to say this truly mean there is something is profound about the lilies, and probably flowers too. If flowers are more glorious than mankind and they themselves fade away, surely men's glory is de minimis: "for all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away".

Having said these, do I like flowers or what flowers represent? Perhaps both - I know not. This I do know: it is time to cook lunch and then read up on judicial review.