A Pansy in my Home

Just this morning, Lily and I were reading a few short stories in Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners and the one titled Pansies, seemed to touch my heart and strike a chord. The story talks about a king who had a beautiful garden and how one day the plants were drooping and fading. Each was finding fault with itself because they were not something else. The pansy was bright and beautiful and as sweet as ever because it knew that "when you planted the seed out of which I grew, you didn't want a pine, or an apple tree, or a vine, or a rose. You just wanted a little pansy. So to please you, I am going to be the best little pansy that I can be."

At the end of the story, the lesson stated is:

"Like the pansy, you must make up your mind to be content, and to grow into the person that you were created to be. If you want to be like a pansy, and make everybody in your home brighter and happier, you must learn to be kind and cheerful."

I'd like to get better at being a pansy in my home. Unfortunately, sometimes I am more of a dandelion stifling it. I desire my home to be a more peaceful and happy place. Don't get me wrong, not that it isn't. I just think we could do a little bit better.