The Four-Leaf Clover

Have you even found a four-leaf clover? What feelings does this awe-inspiring picture evoke in you when you see it? If not, how does it motivate you to search for your own? And if you have found one, what did you do after that, and if not, how do you suppose you would feel then? Maybe after reading my blog, you could write your own thoughts about that.

This said, for me, when I first saw this picture, I was instantly transported back to being an eleven-year-old girl at a daycare house that I did not like being at because of the environment, and then because when we were told to go outside, we never knew how long we had to remain out. Dread always followed expectation on this particular memory of a day I sensed nothing, different, that is, until our care provider told us, " Today, go out and look for a four-leaf clover". I looked at her and thought, " There is a sea of green out there; how are we to find a four-leaf clover in all of that out there? And how rare is finding one in a yard? I have often looked before, and I had never found one. YET, notice I said yet. So, despite the dread I felt, I went out and watched as the other kids went to the front of the house and finally to the enclosed front yard, while I went to the left of the house and began to look there.

This said, reluctantly, I began to scan the ground, which became hard and frustrating because of the sea of green that I swear covered the possible four-leaf clover I wanted to find. At that moment, same was same, and the more I looked, the more I found the same, and the more frustrated I became, which eventually made me want to stop and give up, but I didn't, sighhhh, because secretly I wanted to find a four-leaf clover, so I continued to look. And then suddenly, there it was in the middle of the row I had looked in and then almost overlooked.

This said, at that very moment I was ELATED!!!!!! Then I was shocked because I almost didn't believe what I was seeing. And then I felt relieved, because I had found it, yet as I continued to look at it, I began to think about what I had found. A four-leaf clover. An actual four-leaf clover.

And at this point, I wondered who would have even believed me when I told them? And for this reason, I didn't want to pluck it because it would have died. I wanted to retain its shape, proof that it was indeed a four-leaf clover, because I had found it.

Still, as happy as I was, now I wanted to make sure that it was, in fact, a four-leaf clover because I didn't want it to be a three-leaf with a broken leaf that looked like four. Oh, the conflict of an eleven-year-old with a four-leaf clover. You see, Luck may have been the outcome of the task, yet hope, dedication, and the willingness to continue to find the four-leaf proved more real. And for this reason, I decided to pluck it and take it inside to the daycare provider, to confirm what it was, which she did. And then, because I wanted to show my mom what I had found, not wilted, the day care provider pressed it into parchment paper for me, to serve as a memorial for times ahead. And lastly, I was so proud of what I had found because, secretly, even though it was hard, it was my wish to find one that day. And I did.

So, what became of my four-leaf clover? Well, for a while it remained in a book that I had placed it in, still pressed on the parchment paper, dated with a little written note of where I had found it, etc. Yet, sadly, one day I couldn't locate it, and the loss of it, the space that I continue to feel regarding it, frustrates me, especially because this was something I would have liked to show my children, especially the twins, who are now fourteen. Reflectively, their innocent years, three years before they become adults, would have appreciated the four-leaf clover and the years it was pressed in parchment, as well as they would have thought this was cool and real, as it may have inspired them to find their own four-leaf clover, that is, if we had some in our yard.

As a side note, I am not sure how I am feeling about them becoming fifteen. Part of me is very proud of the talents and gifts that they are finding, yet I am also aware of how much time they have before going outside for a long time may seem like something they will not want to do or like to do when they turn 18 in three years. More so, just like anything else, transitions go along just like everything else without one taking the time to be aware of it. And just like me, when we become aware of the transitional times that happened, it is mainly because of a picture or a memory moment that causes us to pause, feel the scene, and remember.

All said, this picture of a four-leaf clover, today, on the day after St. Patrick's Day, remind me of a memory. It prompted me to write a blog about hope. To remember to remind myself to look beyond what I see, to be determined to keep going until I find it, my prize or breakthrough, and then share that moment with another, because hope is not pressed in parchment paper, it is to enlighten. For you see, a three-leaf clover will remind you of the power of prayer surrounded by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, where the four-leaf clover speaks of the need to keep pressing until your prayer is answered, thus a light to others, the supportive space.