FROM THE BACKYARD, A PRESENT FROM GOD

Beautiful things are discovered in its right time.

Just this morning, I put to my to-do list making a serious research on the art of preservation of dried leaves and flowers. The front and backyard has an abundant share of fallen leaves every now and then so might as well make good use of them. For the past years, I tried a couple of times to do it the natural way, pressing summer flowers and autumn leaves on the last part of the yellow pages and opening it only after a while. They dry up, but didn’t look like how I wanted them to. That’s why when my sister brought up this topic this morning, I was pretty eager to learn the art seriously this time. But little did I know a pleasant surprise was waiting.

The historic monsoon this week was indeed disastrous; and even though the house wasn’t flooded, I knew a cleaning job at the backyard was up for me again. So there I was, sweeping the soggy fallen leaves with a walis ting-ting, when I chanced upon this weird dried leaf from the jackfruit tree. Unlike most fallen leaves, this guy was most unique. It was pure veins, with only about 2% of its brown skin hanging on it. But still, the veins were perfectly held together, no punctures, no perforations, like a  wing of a transparent butterfly. Holy smokes, I said to myself. I immediately got the small basin from the sink, poured in some tap water, and helped the rest of the skin get off the veins. I knew I was being forceful but the veins were miraculously strong. 

Needless to say I wasn’t in pretty much a good state this week. Because I have slight seasonal affective disorder, I had to suffer some bad episodes brought about by the lack of sunlight again. It was so bad I nearly snapped yesterday, if not for a few understanding people around me who let me just walk alone the parking lots of buildings E to J to help me gain some sanity. I was thinking so many thoughts, worrying about my future plans and where I was standing in my own timeline once more. Looking down silently at the strong current from the makeshift pond at the middle of the hub, I prayed and told God I wanted answers. And finding this beautifully preserved dried leaf was not only an answer--- it was a message inserted in a tiny present.

A lot of us, or should I say most of us live our lives like it were purely ours, that when plans go awry, we go awry and crumble like landslides as well. The past year wasn’t exactly as good for me, but it wasn’t so bad either--- and that’s what I failed to see. I was heavily focused on an unsuccessful scholarship application, an ambiguous career ahead, and some other personal challenges that I did not notice that I had over a thousand other blessings. I don’t even want to start naming one because it will never end.

This leaf is God’s reminder, of His promise to me and perhaps to you as well. This leaf, amid the strong winds and heavy rainfall, stood the test and came out really beautiful after an uncertain period, its veins strongly held together like it was some masterpiece, probably even more amazing than any other leaf-art method I could research on. It was beauty made in time. This is God’s art. And if He was able to do it with an innocent leaf, what more to you and me? #

A capture of the leaf after a violent wash. :)