Enchanted Sweet Peas
Last week, after church services, I went by the Enchanted Sweet Pea Farm in Sebastopol. It’s tucked into a small lot next to the Taco Bell parking lot and behind covered cyclone fences. I lived in Sebastopol and didn’t even know it existed, not until this year when a friend told me about it. The small farm opened at 11 a.m. and there was already a gathering of people waiting with bated breath before I got there. Many people come by every year to buy seeds for new hybrid colors. When the gates opened, we all swarmed in like a cloud of bees eager to drink in the blossoms. While most lined up for order forms, I just buzzed from row to row, my nose tucked as close as possible to the sweet scent coming from pink, red, purple, white, lavender, coral, and multi-colored blossoms, row after row of heady delight. I kept thinking about how much Mom Edith (my mother-in-law) would have enjoyed this place. She loved sweet peas. They were her favorite flower. I was told Dad Bill looked everywhere to find her a bouquet for their wedding (December 31) – and failed because sweet peas are a summer flower.
The heady sweet scent also reminded me of how God says our prayers are like sweet incense to Him. He breathes them in and smiles, answering in His time, in His way and for our best.
Let’s offer Him prayers of thanksgiving for the many blessings He has given us – including the beauty and sweet scent of summer sweet peas.
