Wildflowers have captured my interest, respect, and awe for sometime.  But after a recent visit to The National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Alabama this admiration flourished further.

1942 was a time of uncertainty too.  War shortages threatened the norm of living.  George Washington Carver responded by publishing articles and bulletins.  He starts Nature’s Gardens for Victory and Peace with the inspiring poem by Martha Martin called

The Weeds’ Philosophy and Genesis 1:29.   His point was that many wildflowers otherwise known as weeds are good to eat.

According to the Bible, the flowers of the field can also teach us much about our own lives.  For the purpose of this blog, I will focus on resisting anxiety.

So many are ridden with worries of how COVID-19 is going to impact them.  Will they survive it if they get it? Will their loved ones? Will they still have work?  What is going to happen to the economy?  These are valid concerns of which I believe merit processing.  For my own family’s sake,  I was inspired to turn to the wildflowers.

Reflecting further, I decide to ditch the usual homeschool curriculum in order to design a special field trip for my daughter.  As with most instruction, the teacher learns the most.  In this Flowers of the Field lesson (photographed at the end of this blog) I challenge the learner to use two forms of art, photography and drawing to refine their observations skills.  Both fall short of seeing the real flower.

Technology has so many wonderful opportunities, but with all advancements it has its limits too.  For the largest, it seduces us into trading virtual for the real experience.  But I’m going to focus on some of the more subtle short comings. It keeps us indoors.

On a related note, Richard Hobday included some interesting observations in his blog Coronavirus and the Sun: A Lesson from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.  Patients who were placed outdoors in the sun fared better.  What he says has been echoed from Dr. Ryan McWhorter at Alabama Functional Medicine who recommends getting outdoors for a least an hour each day.  I  think of how healthcare workers have no exposure to fresh air much less natural sunlight in their hazmat suits, high rise hospitals, and long stressful hours of work.  How much of this contributes to their risk of infection?

Back to the wildflowers. This lesson I wrote for my daughter helps you to experience the real deal and it also gets you outside.   But what I’ve found is that more than school age students have much to gain from it.  Anyone who is struggling with anxiety and concerns about the future will benefit.   So whether you are homeschooling during this time or not, check it out.  Go for a walk, observe, ponder, and most importantly, rest in the LORD Jesus.

Click Flowers of the Field to download a Windows version of this to print and use with permission in any setting by the author, Hope Mucklow.  And click The Weeds’ Philosophy to reflect on the wonderful and wise poem. #Anxiety #CopingwithCOVID-19 #OvercomeGAD