Divine Detours + Daffodils

Every year in mid-April, a local park flourishes with daffodils. I didn’t plan time to visit this spring, even though I wanted to. 

When I was on my way home after visiting a friend, the Holy Spirit prompted me not to take the highway. I didn’t know why/ Within seconds, my car had an issue. I urgently glanced around for a safe spot to pull over. To my surprise, I quickly ended up at that park…right in time to see the flowers in bloom.

This was the one “social day” I budgeted into my spring break. Why would God allow my car to malfunction when I had places to be? The logical part of me had deadlines to meet and to-do lists to finish. (Did I mention that my phone overheated and wasn’t working either?) 

I parked alongside a field bordered with daffodils, facing a pathway and a pond. Instead of stress, I had peace. The kind that didn’t make sense for my situation, but I felt it anyway. I embraced the sunshine, warm breeze, and the shades of yellow and white all around. 

God gave me what I truly needed in that moment – time with Him in His creation. (My friends and I caught up as planned, even though I needed a ride.) That in itself was a blessing I didn’t know I needed. I could have focused on the bigger picture itself – my car issue and social plans changing – that I could have missed out on the good that God was doing. The rest that He was providing. The valuable time with Him in His creation.

As I strolled throughout the fields, I found patches of tiny, but vibrant wildflowers in between the daffodils. They had the most intricate, colorful details. My somewhat-functioning phone could barely take pictures. Even the best quality photo would pale in comparison to the actual petals.

I was surprised. I had been to this field before and never saw these flowers. Maybe back then, I was so focused on the daffodils that I missed everything else along the way.

In Scripture, Jesus tells his disciples to consider the wildflowers and how God provides for their needs. He pays attention to the details of their petals, He provides the rain and the soil. We, being created in His image, are cared for so much more.

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!” – Luke 12:27-28 (NIV)

The interesting thing about wildflowers is that they aren’t planted intentionally. They just sprout out from the ground and add beauty to their environment. And they can be some of the most beautiful flowers. Just like the wildflowers, the events of this day were not planned or intentional, but they were more grand than I could have orchestrated.

Friend, we can trust God to provide all we need – in the bigger picture and in the smaller details. The daffodils and the wildflowers. Even if we focus on the larger things, God takes care of them all – especially the ones we don’t see.

To parallel this day, I thought back to when I was last at this park two years ago. I was so laser focused on my future that I missed other things that seemed small. The relationship I expected to be forever kept me from seeing everything else God was doing. The job opportunity I heard about, but ignored, was a seed planted for the changes that would come. I missed the details of what God was actually doing. This was His way of redeeming this place and this part of my story. 

Through this experience, God reminded me of a few things:

• God cares about the desires of your heart…even when you push them aside.
• If He has called you to it, there’s nothing stopping it.
• We don’t plan for the detours, but God has a purpose down every path.
• We tend to focus on the big picture, like the daffodils. So often we miss out on the details, like the vibrant wildflowers I almost overlooked. God wants us to see His hands in everything.

Sometimes God rids us of our distractions for us to see that He is all we need. That He is enough. That He will provide. And that we can trust Him, especially in the detours.