Somethings aren’t what they seem, and this perennial plant is a great example. Believe it or not, you’re looking at its flowers. Even more deceptive is its name, Rattlesnake Master. Early Native Americans used the plant’s sap as a snakebite preventive, but please don’t try it at home. A better use of the fibrous leaves was for weaving sandals and baskets. Today, the hardy plant enjoys increasing popularity as a garden ornamental, growing in most soil types and preferring full sun. Butterflies and insects love it, especially Monarchs and bees, because the “flowers” contain nectar and pollen. Not what you expected, right?
Neither is God. Consider how he describes himself in Isaiah 55:8-9. “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work. For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.” Good news for this crazy world from the beginning of time, today, and in the future.
Many times I discovered something wasn’t what I anticipated and received a pleasant surprise as a result—tent camping, gelato, and NASCAR racing at Talladega to name a few. What about you?