Single Mom Smiling is going green for the month of March, shamrock green to be exact – in honor of Saint Patrick‘s Day, but I don’t love green, so I’m not sure I’m thrilled with the look of Single Mom Smiling decked out this way. Let me know what you think.
In the meantime…
It’s funny how concepts like “green” are so obvious, so commonplace that we take them for granted. We often don’t think green needs a definition.
Green is something we’ve ignored since the preschool years. We teach our children their colors somewhere between the ages of 12 months and 4 years, and then we drop the concept, taking for granted that they know green, and unless we are considering painting walls or choosing bridesmaid dresses, we probably haven’t given serious thought about the variances to green in some time,
and truthfully what bride would choose green for bridesmaids’ dresses?
Green is something we take for granted, and yet, maybe we shouldn’t. A quick google search for green pulls up Wikipedia as the first hit, and from there, we can learn many things.
For example, did you know that in several languages, green did not even exist?
Not that there was no green in those worlds, but the word green itself was unheard of. In languages like old Chinese, Thai, and Japanese, green was simply another shade of blue. In old Celtic languages there was one term for blue-green-grey, and even in Old English, the first recorded use of green did not occur until around 700 AD.
Perhaps the lack of the word green reflected the difficulty of conjuring up a good quality green dye. Even when green dye was discovered and used for things such as clothing and paint it lacked vibrancy and faded quickly. Green was associated with the European merchant class and is the color worn by Lisa Gheradini when she posed for the Mona Lisa although the gown is such a dark green that many remember it as black, which shows how even those familiar with the painting have overlooked the color.
Perhaps subconscious identification with green and trade made early Americans choose green for the color of money. Perhaps that identification of green with trade and increased materialism and money is why, green is also the color of envy.
Whatever it is, I was amazed to read up on the concept of green – and at how quickly I can lose track of time while engaged in foolishness!
But all of that reading got me to thinking.
Green such an every day concept for us. We enjoy it in apples and criticize in in bananas. My boys cheer for the Green Bay Packers, but run when their brothers turn a funny shade of it. Green is the color of Ireland and Spring and re-growth.
And yet, too often we take it for granted, expecting it to have always been there, to always be there, and yet, for good parts of history, there wasn’t a way to make green or even an actual word for the color.
It is easy to take people and places and things for granted. Since my life has changed, I feel like I have been born again and that each new day, new life, new smile is precious to me. I make a greater effort to tell those I care about how I feel. I thank those who have helped my boys and me or others. I compare the good I receive to the bad others have received instead of the other way around, and I know I have been blessed.
And yet, I still find there are so many gifts God has given to us that we will forever take for granted: simple things like green, and I remember that in ancient times there was no word for green, no green clothing, no imported green foods, no football teams.
Even now, as I strive to be more gracious, more thankful, more loving each day, I still find things I take for granted and have overlooked. And I am humbled by my own ignorance and by the beauty God has given to us on this beautiful green and blue planet.
And I wonder, when God looks down from Heaven on this very beautiful blue and green planet that He created for us, how many colors must He see that we overlook? What beauty does He see, when looking down from above, that we don’t even have words for?
I wonder how it is possible that God, when He looks upon on His people, sees us as lovable and colorful when I sometimes see myself and others as lacking vibrancy and see our desire to follow God’s plan fade quickly.
Whom or what have you been taking for granted?
How can you show your appreciation for having that person or that thing in your life?
What can you do to show gratitude to the Creator who gave you these overlooked blessings?
Let me know. Leave a comment below.
Photo credit: kconnors from morguefile.com