What a better way to start spring then a Saturday afternoon trip to the greenhouse. My wife Laurie, and four-year-old daughter Azileigh, got in the car and I drove to get a glimpse of spring after what seemed to be a very long winter. As we drove, Azileigh, Laurie, and the cd of children’s silly songs serenaded me. When we arrived at the greenhouse; we were amazed as we looked in awe at the colors of the flowers. Compared to the still drab winter colors that lay across the ground, it looked as though God had opened a big box of crayons and skillfully colored each flower pedal.
“Daddy,” Azileigh whispered, “Let’s go pick mommy out a flower.”
“Alright we can do that,” I said.
“Honey, Azileigh wants her and I to go pick you out a flower,” I said as I looked my wife’s way.
As my daughter and I walked among the beautiful flowers two older, ladies walked up to us and commented on what a little girl she was and how they would love to have her curly hair.
“Look at that hair, just ringlets, its beautiful,” one of the ladies said.
“Do you like all these pretty flowers, honey,” the other lady asks.
“Yes,”Azileigh said.
As the ladies walked away the one turned to us and said, “It is just like heaven in here.” They both smiled and told us to enjoy the flowers and I looked down at my daughter and the strange look on her face. As we walked around looking at more flowers, my daughter looked up at me.
“Daddy,” she said, “the woman said this was like heaven.”
I was ready for one of those four-year-old questions about heaven when she said, “Daddy I remember heaven, it is warm and bright and everyone loves each other. Daddy this is not heaven.”
I was speechless as we walked to find her mommy and buy our flowers. Out of the mouths of babes was all I could think.
“But Jesus said, Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such of these.” Matthew 19:14 NLV
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