Flowers From Gina

One of my favorite summer campers is a fifteen year old girl named Gina. She comes to camp every summer for two weeks, and every year she takes horses, not once, but twice.

Gina's a great rider. She knows enough about horses to help the other kids and even to help us barn staff out getting ready for classes. She can practically teach the horse honor.

She always, and I mean always, remembers my name. She always gives me a hug and asks how my day is going. And she's capable and willing to help out with other campers who need it.

Gina loves Jesus. I don't know if she's really experienced the crazy God that I've come to know through working at summer camp, but she definately has a commitment to Jesus.

But do you know what really makes Gina stand out in my mind? Every single day of her two weeks every single summer, Gina brings me flowers. On her way down to the barn, she picks a boquet of wildflowers: black-eyed susans, queen anne's lace, and daisies. She knows that daisies are my favorite, and so every day, she brings me flowers, and every day, without fail, they're mostly daisies.

Today I got a letter from Gina. On the envelope, she drew a daisy, with the words, "A Daisy For Katie" written around it. Inside were pressed flower petals and in her letter she wrote, "I decided to send you flowers since I can't bring you any. Sorry they aren't daisies!"

I marvel that someone would care about me so much that not only would she notice that I loved flowers and bring me a bunch so faithfully, but she would so carefully bring my favorites. And then, as the months and years pass, she even remembers to send them in the mail. Such a little thing... such a great, big blessing.

I bet God does that for us. I wonder how often we notice? When a teacher cancels class, giving you a little extra free time, is God whispering, "Hey, look what I got for you!"? Or if you get an unexpected phone call from an old friend, is God saying, "Look, I remembered, it's just what you like!"

He knows your favorite flowers. And I'd bet he brings them every day, without fail. He sent me mine today, via a little girl named Gina.