Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits—
Psalm 103:2 NIV
As a homeschool mom I consider it a privilege to be able to be with my children all day. Even though there are times when the challenges are overwhelming and I feel like quitting, there is nothing else I'd rather do with my life. It truly is a blessing! Learning reading and math are great, but the most enjoyable times of our week are when we learn exciting new things about God's creation!
I love springtime, but I'm not much of a gardener. So when we came across the forget-me-not flowers in a story we were reading, I quickly realized I knew nothing about them - not even what they look like. So, off to the computer I went to learn all that I could. After showing a picture of them to my kids I then found myself interested in learning more about them.
Through my research I learned that there are 50 different kinds of forget-me-nots. They are mostly sky blue in color, but can also be pink or white. They have five petals and a yellow center. They can be either annual or perennial and grow nicely in shaded areas. They are an excellent ground cover to help hide bare spots under tall shade trees. The forget-me-not is the state flower of Alaska. Even though everything we studied about this beautiful and elegant flower was fascinating, we enjoyed learning the legend of how it got it's name the best.
The German legend tells of a Medieval knight and his sweetheart that were walking alongside a riverbank when they came across some beautiful blue flowers. As the knight plucked the flowers and held the bouquet in his hands, he accidentally fell into the water. Because of the weight of his armor he was unable to get out of the water. According to the legend, he tossed the bouquet at his love and shouted, "Forget me not" and then disappeared. The young woman never forgot her knight and wore the flowers in her hair until her own death.
There are many versions of this legend but they all insinuate the same message - the knight didn't want to be forgotten by his love.
After learning about this saga I instantly thought about the verses in the Bible which tells me to "forget not" my God. How many times do I allow the busyness of life to take my thoughts off God while I focus on lesser things? This story is a great reminder of how I need to be mindful of God and all that He has done for me.
I don't know about you, but I feel like planting some forget-me-nots!
Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day.
Deuteronomy 8:11 NIV
Originally written by Crystal - March 10, 2011
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