I bet you’ll never guess what my favorite jewelry was when I was a girl. Here’s a hint: it could be rather itchy at times.
When I was kid, we mainly played outside. No smart phones or computer games. Just us and the great outdoors. This was especially true at school where the schoolyard was blessed with little wildflowers. At the time, we didn’t know their names. All that mattered was the fact that we could make jewelry out of their blooms.
We would pick the fullest and pretties blooms with the stems attached. Next, we would take the end of a stem and tie it around the base of another bloom. By doing that, we in essence created a chain, but in our little minds, we had a grand necklace, bracelet, or even a ring.
The blooms we used the most were the little white ones since they were so abundant. I believe they are called white Dutch clover. You could say we used them as the beads since they were the main decoration in our design. Sometimes would find pretty little purple blooms as accent pieces such as pendants. I have heard some call these flowers red clovers. We also used the pretty flat yellow flowers, which are dandelions.
Let’s skip ahead from the 1970s to the early 2000s. At this time, Sara was around 10 years old and playing in a softball tournament. Since the girls had won their game, we were waiting to play the winner of the next game. Sara and one of her friends were bored. I glanced over the small field next to us and saw the little white Dutch clover blooms. Needless to say, I felt an excitement I hadn’t felt in years.
I jumped up and immediately began making the little flower necklaces. The girls were amazed at what I was doing. As for me, I was amazed that they didn’t know how to make flower jewelry. The three of us had the best time in that little field of flowers.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (KJV)
To me, the treasures of the outdoors declare the glory of the Lord. I don’t know how you can take in the complexity of it all and still not recognize Him. If you think about it, every thing He has ever created, even us, shouts to His awesomeness.
Once we had made our flower necklaces, I had a realization. Our little flower necklaces were hillbilly versions of the Hawaiian leis. No, I have not been to Hawaii, but everybody is familiar with the leis they drape across your neck when you arrive. Maybe we should do our version of that welcome.
Think about it. When people enter our state, hillbilly leis can be placed around their necks. Instead of aloha, we could say: “Howdy! Glad y’all are here in the great state of Tennessee!”
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.