Many Easter traditions will be put to the side this year. No boisterous crowds filling the churches, no special clothes or big hats, no joyful greeting of “Alleluia. Christ is risen” to all we meet and the equally joyful response of “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.” A good number of us instead will celebrate alone in front of a computer screen.
Yes, Easter will be celebrated differently this year, but for many of us there will be even greater beauty and meaning in our more simple celebrations. At a time when most of the world news is full of doom and despair, today is a joyful reminder that God loves us and will have the final victory.
So what do we do? I recall some words from a sermon that I heard on Good Friday—the priest cited the opening line of a prayer by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.” It will take time for things to return to any sense of normalcy, but we should never give up hope.
My hope and prayer for all today, whether you celebrate Easter or not, is that you can put aside at least some of your incessant worries and seek to find joy in whatever way you can. For me, joy and beauty can be found in small things, like this tiny flower that I photographed recently in the garden of my neighbor. I have no idea what it is, but I know that it sparked joy in me the moment I spotted it.
Happy Easter.
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Mike Powell 
Yes, it’s the slow work that will win out in the end. Wish you a blessed Easter, Mike.
Happy Easter, Mike!
Thank you for bringing us evidence of the small beauty in God’s creation throughout the year.
Happy Easter to you, Mike.
He is Risen! Hallelujah!
Looks like a buttercup to me?
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I think it is something like a buttercup, but the center looks a little different to me. The world of flowers is mostly a vast unknown for me.
Happy happy day😊
Happy Easter, Mike! 😊💚
Thanks, Patty Anne. Happy Easter to you too.
Very Nice Mike! And Happy Easter!
Feeling the joy here, too, Mike! Beautiful! 🙂
I’m not sure without seeing the leaves but that flower might be yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta.) Especially if it had clover like leaves.
I hope you had a happy Easter!
Thanks. I am having a wonderful Easter and hope that you are too. I guess I need to pay attention to pulling back a little to take photos of the whole plant when photographing these little flowers. I looked at photos of yellow sorrel on line and they do look a lot like the flower I photographed and appear to invade gardens sometimes.
I had a great day. Yes, yellow sorrel is common in both lawns and gardens and tends to get an early start in spring. The flowers are trumpet shaped and quite small.
If you ever want your flower photos to appear in a wildflower guide for instance, they insist that the leaves be included. But that isn’t always possible!
Have a Happy Easter in whatever you do.
The flower is exactly the same as the pink oxalis weed I find outdoors, so I suspect yours is the yellow variety. I’ve never seen a yellow one, only the pink.
I had my own solitary sunrise service today, thinking of the times I shared with others. No longer do I take such things for granted.
Hope your day was a good one, Mike.
“Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. You have beautifully and eloquently captured exactly that which we should be pursuing during this most holy of days and in the days to come. This little flower is pure sunshine on a stem. My day held an unexpected gift which I had hoped and prayed for and for which I am most grateful. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
That’s a wonderful quote Ellen, a great gem from Gem, as ever! Thank you for sharing. Much love, Liz xx
This flower’s a treat and I especially love the second shot that’s so in-your-face !!
You know Mike, I think I’d like to post that 2nd pic of yours and team it with Ellen’s quote – is that ok with you?
That definitely is ok with me, Liz. We are all in this together and I think collaboration is becoming the new norm.
Thanks, Liz.
Happy Easter Mike. The joy to be found in the flora and fauna around us – some of which really don’t have a clue about social distancing – is (for me at least) our creator-God showing us that he’s got us in his care, and is showing us afresh what’s important. Something to remember when it’s all over.
[…] this photo from a blog-post at Mike Powell’s blog. The post had the title of Happy Easter 2020 and Mike shared a couple of photos of this bright yellow flower, one of which was very […]
Thank you
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