Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting ~ Black-eyed Susans

Wildflower ~fleeting?

Calling a wildflower fleeting seems contradictory, since most have a reputation for longevity in blooming.  The photo above, of a black-eyed Susan, is one of many just like it from a patch growing in my neighbor’s yard.  Their blooming season typically lasts for about two to three months before fading.  I took this picture a few days ago; I imagine the flower looks almost identical to when I snapped its portrait then.  Unlike finicky hybrids, most wildflowers are hardy, maintenance free and long bloomers.  Fleeting is not one of their descriptors.

Fleeting depends on perspective, though.  If one uses days as a measurement in determining the longevity of wildflowers, then they are not fleeting.  They outlive any day lily on the block.  However, if scrutinized from the vantage point of years, then like every other flower of the field, they are without question fleeting.

When compared to eternity, our time on earth is fleeting.  It happens in a blink.  Just as the flowers of the field spring up, blooming for a season only to wither away, we are here for just a season.  God describes that we spend our years as a tale that is told.  Since He lives outside the confines of time, He would know.

This should make us each of us want to use what time we have left wisely.  We should number our days, aligning our priorities from an eternal perspective.  Since we take nothing with us when gone, and leave only faded memories behind, each day here should count for what really matters.

You might ask, since we are not here for very long anyway, why does how we live matter?

Your life, or how you live it, may not seem to matter, but to God it does.  He created you for a special purpose and already knows the number of your days.  While here, He wants us to number them as a way of gaining a heart of wisdom, found only by coming to know and follow Him.  Think about this.  The God of the universe carefully tends the flowers of the field, by arraying even simple wildflowers in majestic glory.  This same God also cares for you.

From an eternal perspective, black-eyed Susans are but a speck.  They are fleeting when viewed through the lens of eternity.  Yet, they grace hillsides and line highways with their unpretentious beauty.  When surrendered to God, our lives don the beauty with which He intended and shine ever so lovely.  Fleeting still, but yielded to Christ, our lives will truly matter, and we will one day live forever with Him, never deemed fleeting again.

  Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12

I like the side shot the best, but couldn’t resist posting the front angle

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Sue Nash/2013

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