Thankful [adj.; thangk-fuhl]

If you were anywhere in The South on Easter Sunday, you were privy to some of the most beautiful weather we've seen in months.  The sun and I have reconciled since our last bout with dreariness and we are officially friends again.  (PS as much as I do love you, I wouldn't mind my little raincloud buddy to return to simply wash away all the pollen...my car, clothes, shoes, room....MYSELF are all covered.)


Something I have always cherished about living in The South is the endearing way people share stories in order to explain parts of life.  I have since decided to file away some of these stories under fact rather than fiction and one of those stories involves the Dogwood tree.  Though many weren't blooming by this past weekend, I was able to find a couple of flowers on this one.  


The story passed down in my family for generations goes something like the following.  Many who celebrate Easter know of the Lord's sacrifice of His only Son to pay for our sins, but what you may not know is that Jesus' cross that burdened his shoulders was actually made of Dogwood.  Because the cross was made from Dogwood, God made sure that the Dogwood tree would never grow large enough to serve this purpose again.  Therefore, Dogwoods generally carry narrow, flimsy branches that can't hold much weight.  The flowers on the Dogwood carry four petals, resembling and symbolizing the cross. The flowers are white showing the purity of our sins being washed clean. Each petal has a a bit of pink at the end of it showing where Jesus was nailed to the cross and the cluster in the middle resembles His crown of thorns.  I don't know about you but I find comfort in the survival of stories like these.  On a beautiful day such as Sunday, it's hard not to find the Lord in everything you see, as evidence by these photos: (still pining after that camera :-)...

Happy Belated Easter!

P.S.  I am packing this week (boo) but I am moving into a new place!  Get excited about pictures coming this weekend and a fun post on Thursday about what I did today at work.