Coincidence Or Tender Mercy?

Yesterday was a day I've been praying for.  I needed a "tender mercy" and I got one.  As usual, it came from a child.  A little six year old who entered my classroom and my life in the middle of this school year.  She didn't want to be there.  She missed her old school everyday...and told me so.  But, everyday I inched my way into her heart and hers into mine.  She's a strong little spirit and such a great listener with all kinds of smart inside of her.  I love her.  And that love intensified even more yesterday.

One of my favorite activities during the year is a fabulous art project where we use oil pastels.  We study sunflowers.  All kinds.  We look at famous artists (Georgia O'Keefe, Van Gogh, Monet)  renditions of sunflowers.  This year I showed them some of the sunflower photos that Terry secretly planted for me every Spring that produced a sea of sunflowers in my yard by the end of summer.  I told them how at the end of the season, Terry would go out and harvest the heads of the sunflowers and use them to plant the next season's crop.  I loved it.

And now, for the "coincidences"...


Yesterday morning, Miss R came to me with a very special gift (more on that later).  She had a smile from ear-to-ear and a story to match.  She told me that she had been to her clogging lesson at her aunt's house that weekend.  She heard her mother speaking with her aunt about how she was liking her new home and who she had purchased the home from.  It went like this:


Aunt:  Well first, it was built by Coach Drury, the coach at Provo High School.  Then Tami and Terry Anderson sold it to us.  (No lie!)


Mom:  What??  Are you kidding?  That is Miss R's teacher.


Miss R:  (overhearing the two ran over)  This was my teacher's house??  Where are the sunflowers?  Are they in the front?  The back?  Can I see them?  Her husband planted them for her.


Aunt:  You know, I may have seen some on the ground.  Let's go out and look.


It was dark and they took flashlights outside and collected two of the mammoth sunflower heads and the seeds that had fallen out onto the ground and put them into two bags...


Miss R brought them to me!  At first I was shocked and then I started to weep.  I couldn't help myself.  I had kicked myself for not bringing some of the sunflower heads with me when I moved. (I just couldn't think straight on the day of the move)  I hugged Miss R. and could barely let her go.  I sat in my rocking chair with tears streaming and explained to the children why I was  crying.  I was just so happy that now, I could plant those seeds in my new yard and have the same sea of sunflowers that my boyfriend wanted me to have.

I'm so happy.





Come over in the 
late summer to check
out the beauties these
will make!