I was browsing in a gift shop and came across a plaque with a message that really touched me: Even miracles take a little time. I bought it because in this "hurry-up I want it now" world we live in I often find it difficult to be patient and seem to want what I want instantaneously! I keep this plaque on my desk as a reminder that the best things in life are often the things we have to work or wait for.

No where are miracles more evident than in nature, especially the transformation from the dreary harshness of winter to the lush beauty of spring. Just this week I was reminded of the small miracles that Mother Nature performs. We had colder than usual temps in the South this year that lasted for much of the winter. Tropical plants obviously don't do well in freezing temps, and so we thought we had lost quite a few plants and shrubs. We tried to have an optimistic outlook and were hopeful that many of the the plants were healthy enough to survive and would come back to life. But by late April many still looked like dried sticks, and we decided it was time to replace them. But lo and behold when we went to remove them we were met with one of nature's little miracles: green buds sprouting from those dried sticks!! Actually some of the plants had already been sprouting leaves!! What an amazing reminder of the magnificence of nature and the cycle of life... and a profound example that even miracles take a little time! ~ Andrea :-)