When I saw this, first I just went, "AWWWWW!" Then I heard all kinds of thoughts go through my head - how this image just screams out what a wonderful job this couple is doing raising their little girl and how this family costume says it all.
I'm a person who likes to put abstract ideas into concrete images, so let me share what I saw in this picture.
There sits little Violet. Yes, her name is really Violet! (hence, the costumes!) Violet is a fragile, beautiful, precious little thing that God brought into this couple's life. I know He was thinking of these two beautiful people as He created Violet - He had to have been!
Now, I could go on all day about this family, and I intend to talk about them a lot, but I want to start by talking about flowers - especially violets - and what they need to survive.
Flowers need water - plain and simple. They cannot survive without it. It keeps them supple, yet it gives them the strength they need to stand tall and stand strong in the world they face every day. Without good, clean water a flower cannot process its food.
Flowers need sunlight - they cannot survive without the sun. Sunlight and water combine within a flower to produce the food it needs to live. Without the sun a vulnerable flower cannot grow to it's potential - it cannot become the flower God intended for it. If it survives at all, it would be weak and pale and nothing at all like its intended beauty.
Flowers also need bees. Yuck! But it's true. Bees take bits of the sweet goodness that is within the flower and share it with other flowers so they all can grow and reproduce. The one flower itself does not need the bee to live and be beautiful, but to be all it was intended, a flower needs a bee.
God provided these things for this beautiful Violet when He sent her to this couple!
Look at mom - a watering can. I remember when she left the job she loved as a teacher. Almost overnight, she walked away from her career when God put Violet in their life. She refocused her life for Violet. This mom literally is pouring her life into this beautiful little girl. Every day she spends her time making sure Violet get what she needs. Mom's whole life is focused on one thing right now: that Violet is taken care of.
I love how Mom is dressed AS the watering can, not just holding the watering can. This isn't a role she can put down and walk away from - this is who she is at the moment. This role she has chosen is one that she doesn't set down when it gets heavy or difficult - it is who she is. Her role doesn't end when she leaves Violet in others' hands for a while. She is still Violet's main lifestrength. What she is pouring into this little one is making her strong and allowing all the wonderfulness in her life to sink down into the core of who she is and who she will become. Without this wonderful water, Violet could never take what is provided for her to its full use.
Then there is Dad dressed as the sun. What a wonderful provider he is to be able to allow Mom to stay home with Violet. He makes sure she has all she needs - shelter, food, and lots of love. I think I've only met Dad in passing once or twice, but I know that he is doing great things for his family. His love and care, protection, and hard work are providing the basics necessary for mom to be able to pour all of herself into this beautiful Violet to help her grow into a strong woman.
And Violet needs her dad. More and more, research is showing how important a dad is to a child's life. Dads are the ones who instill modesty into a young girl. Dads are the backbone. Dads bring the morals. Moms grow them and refine them, but those basics are actually brought in by the dads. Dads are lifeshapers! Just as the sun is needed to make a flower all that it was intended to be, so a dad will bring out all a child is intended to be.
Then we bring in the little bee... what a cute little thing. And what an awesome first friend for Violet. This little dog will help teach Violet how to be a good friend - how to spread her love for her family and her love for God to others around her. As Violet grows she will learn to be gentle, to sometimes give space to those around her when they need it, to spend time with, and to care for others in her life. This little dog will help her learn to look outside of herself to see others and how she can help care for them.
Then there is just the overall beauty of the picture. All these elements working together to not only create a beautiful flower, but also a beautiful picture of life. This is a family working to create beauty in their child and those around them. As this mom and dad work to raise Violet, their care will spill over into their neighborhood and town, making it healthier and better. It makes me want to live next door!
Oh, if only God guided the hands of all those around us, what a beautiful world we would life in! That just challenges me all the more to shine strong and water abundantly - to do what God has asked me to do in such a way that I strengthen those in my care, spill over into the world around me, and choke out the weeds around me through His love!
I challenge you, moms and dads, to take a moment to ponder your role in the lives of your children. None of us is perfect, but how are you doing, really, being sunlight and water for your kids? Allow God to speak to you. He may give you a big 'Well Done!" or he may give you a nudge. Listen to Him. And remember - the lives you are pouring into right now will shape the world in the future. Love on those kiddos - it makes all the world a better place!
