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Something caught my eye, and I stopped to stare.

I was sitting in a medical clinic waiting room, flipping through a gardening magazine. There on a full-page spread was the image of a magnificent Australian gordonia tree.  I was familiar with gardenias, but this was spelled gordonia.

A carpet of flowers lay beneath the deep green foliage of the five meter dome-shaped canopy. The single white flowers displayed a cluster of yellow stamens in the center of each bloom. The flowers all lay sunny side up. The journalist had made a point of this phenomena. Even after vigorous breezes, they always land facing sunny side up. The colloquial term used was the “fried egg tree.”

Allowing my mind to drift back to my first visit to the USA, I had ordered breakfast in a Californian restaurant. The waitress asked if I wanted my eggs sunny side up. Being an Australian, I had never heard the expression. Upon inquiring, the girl explained it meant the yellow yolks would face up on the plate.

The words the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians crept through my musing. At first I could not discern the correlation. Then the doctor called me into his office. As I rose from the seat, I realized how much calmer I was than when I first entered the waiting room. 

My heart was full of wonder. The comfort of the Holy Spirit was assuring me I would land sunny side up from this current physical trial. It was as if He were saying if the flowers and eggs could land sunny side up after such shaking and baking, then I could too.

Being open to the voice of God throughout our day can bring surprising light and life into any situation. Take a moment to listen today.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)