©Laurie Pace Graphics One Design 2026
My Traveling Zinnias
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1
We have all heard it:
Bloom where you are planted.
Apparently, no one explained that to our zinnias.
It is August in Texas. The heat is relentless and we are heading into a sun forced Indian Summer in September. The winds are coming hard out of the south, the grass is burning beneath our feet, and watering is restricted to two certain days.
We are up at 4:30 in the morning on those days, trying to give the enormous oak trees, flowers and grass enough water to endure another three or four days.
Some of the zinnias have had enough.
They haven't died.
They've moved.
Well...as much as a zinnia can move.
They have bent almost to the ground and stretched themselves toward the shade beneath our porch swing. And there, tucked away from the worst of the Texas sun, they are still blooming. Bees are still buzzing around them. Butterflies are still finding them.
They didn't stay where conditions were destroying them simply because that was where they were planted.
They reached toward what gave them life.
Maybe endurance isn't always about standing tall.
Sometimes endurance is knowing what to bend toward.
What to reach for.
What gives you life?
And perhaps that is something worth remembering when life suddenly changes and we find ourselves simply trying to survive.
Sometimes we don't have the luxury of standing still and thinking everything through. We move. We make the decision in front of us. We reach for shelter.
And later, looking back, we realize—
we were still blooming.
Visit my Blog on the website for the painting of Indian Summer and the full tale of the moving zinnias right here. — Laurie Pace / Elle Pace
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Laurie Pace, Elle Pace, What Gives Us Life, Threads of Grace, Indian Summer Winds, Texas artist, Texas summer, zinnias, endurance, resilience, bloom where you are planted, faith and art, Christian inspiration, Psalm 46:1, finding strength, surviving hard seasons, artist blog, equine artist, horse painting, original oil painting
• self-interest vs selflessness • New Year Christian reflection • faith and relationships • humility in relationships • God’s calling to serve
Laurie is an international artist, her paintings are collected in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, DuBai, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, St Thomas, Romania, Greece, Croatia, and Ecuador.
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