The desert is blooming right now. One neighbor has a cactus with blooms I’ve never seen before. Doug has coaxed blooms from at least nine different kinds of roses in our backyard. But, plentiful oleander and palo verde blossoms in our neighborhood make my nose run and my eyes itch. I sneeze and sneeze and sneeze.

I seldom slow down long enough to savor the beauty my heart craves.

Like Martha, I’m worried about many things. My to-do list is so long!

And like a sheep  who strays, I am at least partially deaf to the voice of the Good Shepherd who calls me to rest.

Though I ignore the beauty of the blooms, the sneezes and fatigue slow me down long enough to pause. And see. And listen.

Thank you Heavenly Father, for desert blooms and sneezes.