The Face of a Flower

I looked into the face of a flower
And saw its beauty therein
It stirred my heart deep inside
Knowing from a seed it did begin.

I knew that seed had made a hard journey
For life can be very hard for some seed
I had comforted the tiny one
For it had been labeled a weed.

People said such hurtful things
About the seed's feelings they did not care
So I began telling the seed about God's plan
For its life of which it was unaware.

And so it was on that day
The seed laid on the ground lifeless and worn
It laid away from all else
Feeling alone and so forlorn.

The tiny seed did not know
The great potential it had
Nor did it know the life it held
And sometimes it felt very sad.

Across the way was a garden
And of that it wasn't a part
Seeing such beauty over there
It made an ache in its heart.

People would come and go
And step upon the tiny seed
It was crushed beneath the feet
It was crushed by many people, indeed.

Upon the hard ground the seed lay
And it looked across at the beauty of the flowers
It was alone and very heartbroken
It laid there many, many hours.

Alone with thoughts of its ugliness
When upon the beautiful flowers it did gaze
It felt so worthless and ugly
But it laid there through the nights and days.

Upon the hard ground the seed laid all alone
When suddenly one day the wind began to blow
It swept the seed up and took it far away
Into a place the tiny seed did not know.

The little seed picked itself up
And it looked all around
Very much to its delight
It had fallen upon soft, fertile ground.

The little seed snuggled into the soft earth
And made itself a cozy bed
Carved out of the fertile ground
It laid there and began to be fed.

The little seed began to grow so quickly
It could not believe its own eyes
Little green sprouts began popping up
And the tiny seed the sprouts did disguise.

Its tiny heart began to beat so fast
And its imagination did begin to fly
A beautiful flower it wanted to be
So it could lift its face to the sky.

Oh, could I please be so beautiful
As the flowers that God does grow?
Could I be one of His beauties
Lined up in a row?

The tiny seed did not know
The plans for it that God had made
And that within a few days
Upon it God's beauty would be laid.

One morning bright and early
The tiny seed with fluffy leaves so green
Opened the petals of a beautiful flower
The most beautiful ever seen.

Oh, God, where did my beauty come from?
How did You make me so beautiful?
When I first began as an ugly seed
I never thought I'd be useful.

All during the day the gardener came
And of its beauty he did speak
He admired the beautiful flower
And said, "Oh, this flower I must keep."

He did not know where the flower came from
For he said he had not planted the seed
But such beauty he had never seen
So he knew it wasn't a weed.

The tiny seed which had grown into a flower
Felt its heart swell with pride
As the gardener plucked it up
And he placed it in a vase inside.

Behind the vase hung a mirror
So the beautiful flower with its eyes did peer
It saw in the mirror its reflection
And down its face ran a tear.

Oh, thank You, God
For making me so others can see
The face of the flower
Which You made in me.

The flower's heart was stirred deep inside
Knowing that from the ugly seed it did grow
It now had the face of a lovely flower
Not a weed, but God's beauty it did show.

The flower knew with God's beauty upon it
It would never be called a weed again
For the seed was now a lovely flower
And nothing but God's beauty would remain.

I see in you the face of a flower
With God's beauty without and within
And your beauty began with a little seed
When you opened your heart and let God in.