Persist

When I moved here, there were large, open fields near my apartment complex full of sunflowers.

It made me so happy driving down the road because I have a special connection to them.

As summer went on, I took the long way just so I could see the sunflowers.

Even at night, you can feel their warmth.

Then, one day, I was driving home and saw the sunflowers being plowed. One of the fields is being developed into a subdivision, so of course, the sunflowers had to go.

We are blessed to live in a world where we are given light from above, and light that grows from the ground below, yet somewhere along the way, we lost our gratitude for the light.

As I drove past this same field a couple days ago, I noticed some sunflowers had snuck through and were growing up through concrete, drainage tubing that is standing upright on that field. There were sunflowers snaking their way around a nearby electrical box.

Immediately, one word popped into my head.

Persist.

Not persistence.

Persist.

A verb.

An action word.

A direction.

Things are hard right now, for a million and one reasons, but in all that hardness, God found a way to make his next request; a message through sunflowers.

For many months, I have been wanting to start a new hobby because I had seen, prior to moving here, that Waco has a painted, kindness rocks page on Facebook. I had never heard of such a thing, so I joined. I then became enamored by the idea of painting rocks and hiding them out in the world for strangers to find. Little did I realize this was a thing all over, not just in Waco. It also immediately became an idea for an ongoing project with the learners in my classroom.

Ironically, my first batch of rocks arrived this week, so after my encounter with the sunflowers, I knew I had to paint a rock in honor of the word persist.

To persist, means more than just to survive, similar to persevere (another word I am very familiar with lately), it means to keep going, even when the odds are beyond stacked against you, long past when others would have given up, and sometimes, even when everyone tells you that to continue is madness.

I’m not just persevering despite trials.

I’m persisting when most of what I can hear in the background is the opposition saying how impossible it is to continue.

I have discovered, since taking on this new assignment in Waco, TX, that my purpose in life is largely about serving God through my service to others, which is bigger than teaching alone.

Painting rocks is not only incredibly cathartic, but it is a way for me to bring joy to others, while continuing to serve them. They also really helped me work through some big feelings this week, so I’m excited to have the new outlet.

Despite the catharsis, I found myself still critiquing some of their flaws, a habit I have tried to kick, but one that I have spent years perfecting.

The purpose of painted, kindness rocks though is not to be perfect, but to be found. To spread light. To let God work through you in order to give a sign to someone else.

I don’t know who in Waco is going to find my rocks, but therein lies the beauty. A chance to help a stranger persist through another day.

In my own life, I continue to pray about how and when I should persist, and when I should in turn, desist.

Discernment is tricker these days, but regardless, I am thankful for the signs that continue to feed my momentum and propel me forward, even on the days where someone plows over my proverbial sunflowers.

❤