Weedy Bouquets

My kids love to bring me flowers. Typically, these bouquets are random weeds from our yard. However, they enjoy gathering them, arranging them, and wrapping the stems with ribbon. They present them to me with love, confident that I’ll put these bouquets in a vase with water and place it somewhere special. And, I always do because I love my kids, and it’s super sweet. When my husband gets home, he usually comments on these bouquets and praises the child who gifted it to me.

Several years ago, I read St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary. After reading it, I knew I wanted to be consecrated to her, and through her, to Jesus.  Very soon after I completed my first consecration, our sweet Mother taught me a valuable lesson.

This lesson came to me through one of my children, as so many of my lessons do. My third child brought me one of these weedy bouquets. This particular bouquet was just wretched! Most of the “flowers” were literally dead grass clippings from the lawn mower. And, yet, this child handed them to me with such confidence, truly convinced that it was quite lovely. Stifling back giggles, I kissed this child, took her bouquet, put it in a little vase and set it next to our Mary statue.

As I looked at that silly, truly ridiculous bouquet, I knew something deep within my soul.

Still very much at peace, I realized that I frequently give Mother Mary weedy bouquets. Perhaps my offerings aren’t quite as bad a dead grass clippings, but the lesson is still the same.

My offerings aren’t lovely flowers because my actions and intentions still need to be purified of everything to do with the world and the flesh. Mother Mary also reminded me of how I accepted this weedy bouquet, with love. If I, who am a work in progress, can accept a weedy bouquet with tenderness, how much more does she, who is one with Love itself, accept with tenderness the weedy offerings of her beloved children.

When we make offerings to Our Blessed Mother, she accepts these offerings, weedy though they are, and she rearranges them, places them in the beautiful vase of her hands, and offers them to her Son who then puts them in a special place of honor, at the feet of the Father.