'Little Purple Pansies' - #244 Children's Songbook

Today I am grateful for pansies. I have always loved them. Purple is my favorite color, and I loved to sing the primary song about them when I was little. Today I was planting them in some pots and in my front planter. I love to get my hands in the dirt and work...that's when I do some of my best thinking. The pansy gets it's name from the French word pensee' meaning 'thought.' It was so named because the flower resembles a human face and in August it nods forward as if in deep thought. Because of the origin of it's name, the pansy has long been a symbol of free-thought. Maybe I looked like a pansy as I worked. It's hard not to think about heavy things these days, with presidential campaigns, the economic crisis, and the uncertainty in our country swirling about us...but as I looked at those pansies, I felt hope. Another reason I love pansies is because they not only survive, but thrive while other blossoms die as it turns colder. They must be a 'faithful flower.' They reminded me that there is much to be happy about and that an abundant life is a simple life.