Green
While day two in Mayberry ended a lot better than day one, I could still identify a feeling of un-fulfillment. (Read Anxious in Mayberry to see how the first day went.) I almost headed back home early in the morning because I loved the idea of being in the familiar comfort of home and still having most of the day ahead of me, but I knew I’d be disappointed in myself because the un-fulfillment would linger. I decided to stay a little bit longer outside of my comfort zone to make a couple more stops.
One of the places I wanted to go to was the city’s Botanical Gardens. I didn’t know anything about it, but a nature walk sounded like a great way to clear my head, spend time with God, and embrace some natural beauty. You see, my favorite color for as long as I can remember is a specific shade of green. It’s slightly darker, but still very vibrant. It’s richly illuminated and found in nature on bright, sunny days. Walking through Botanical Gardens, eager to see my greens, I was amazed at how vast their whole exhibit was (Birmingham’s is smaller and not as diverse). They had multiple sections of seasonal flowers, herbs, and greenery. The day was sunny with a few clouds but not enough to dampen the sun’s brightness, so everything glowed in sunlit magnificence. It was perfect.
I asked Him about the Garden of Eden and we talked about the different kind of plants and trees He created.
The best part was the remote walking trails though. Hardly anyone went to those and while I had to fend off a few mosquitoes, it was there I could focus on God. I asked Him about the Garden of Eden and we talked about the different kinds of plants and trees He created. When we weren’t talking, all I could do was absorb its beauty in reverent silence and wonder.
I believe as people, we make the world in blues. Blue is our staple color (that isn’t a neutral). Look at lined paper: if they’re not black, they’re blue. Professional ink pen colors are blue and black. Blue jeans, blue shirts, blue-toned grays in our concrete jungles. Most of our apps have blue in them if they have a color. Sitting in this coffee shop people-watching, almost everyone is wearing blue as one of their main clothing pieces be it their pants, shirt, or blazer. Don’t get me wrong, blue is great. Blue has more possibilities than most non-neutral colors. It has the power to be a turning heads kind of statement, but it also fades back into this stability that almost every non-neutral color is unable to achieve. Think soft, worn jeans kind of blue.
When you get away from all our man-made structures, you’ll see green and you’ll see it everywhere. In the grass, on trees, at the base of flowers. You’ll see it every shade of light and dark, yellow-toned and blue-toned. Regardless of what shade of green you see, the common denominator is its vibrancy that can stand on its own. You don’t need any additional colors on a tree or herbs to make them beautiful, they’re beautiful all on their own. But when you look at flowers, it doesn’t matter if they’re coral, royal blue, or white, the green allows the colors’ magnificence to pop. It’s simultaneously the focal point and the backdrop.
While blue is our staple color, I like to think green is God’s.