Poppies are one of my all time favorite flowers, and that is saying a lot coming from a girl who spent years working at a flower shop. Seeing a wild poppy brings me so much joy and I delight in their simple elegance. The bright red pigment in their petals contrasted against the green of their stems has a way of bringing my heart into a special place of elation. Something about being in their midst just puts me at ease. I can’t even really explain it.
To my surprise, the Bulgarian countryside that I am living in at the moment is filled with fields of wild poppies. As I have spent much of my time here feasting my eyes on these delicate little flowers, I realized how symbolic they are.
Poppies are actually just weeds. They often grow on roadsides, disturbed land, and some websites I searched even said that they thrive in waste areas. These flowers that are so gorgeous, come from soil that are viewed in the gardening world as useless. But they still grow. They refuse to relent. They take the dirty ground, and use it to make something beautiful.
Many people in the village we are living in have nothing to offer. They live in dirty, concrete houses, several of them without running water or plumbing. Most of the children don’t have clean clothes to wear and we rarely see them without a dirty face. They live in an atmosphere that seems spiritually dark.It is easy to look around and see a barren land and it is easy to assume that out of the grime in the environment, comes grime in the people. But I have learned that there is always some good in the grime. There are people here that are like the poppies. They come out of the disturbed land, and are beautiful. They rise above the darkness in their community. They have so much joy in their hearts and God has used them, in the midst of their circumstances, to bring blessings to our team. They are full of His Spirit.
There are two little girls in particular that I already know will be hard to say goodbye to. Pipi is about 5 years old. She doesn’t have a lot to offer and she comes from a family of little wealth and poor circumstance. But she is so filled with joy that she shines radiantly in the midst of it all, just like the bright red poppy we found in the middle of our dirty village.
Ragustina loves unconditionally and worships The Lord like no one is watching. Every time we see her, all she wants from us is a hug and a smile. When I look at these little girls, I understand what it means to have faith like a child and I pray that they will continue to be lights in this community.
This week I realized how important it is to be a poppy. God uses poppies. He uses people that come from situations that seem unfavorable for the good of His kingdom. Even if we do not all come from physically hard situations, we all come from a place of sin that is broken and undesirable. We are all called to be poor in spirit. Mathew 5:3 says that the poor in spirit are blessed, and they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Being poor in Spirit simply means that we recognize that we are barren without Jesus.
May we all desire to be like the Poppies. For He can use those who follow Him as pieces of beauty in the middle of a dark, disgusting world.
