Around my home I have a couple of vases with dried eucalyptus in them. I like dried eucalypus because it’s simple. The leaves are a calm sage color. The aroma is fresh and earthy. In one of the vases, I added a few peacock feathers, bright with blue, green, and gold. Peacocks carry a lot of meaning for me because of a book I read with a peacock on the cover when I was evaluating my faith and growing it into my own.
When I started my writing journey, this simple arrangement adorned my desk and inspired me, mostly because it looked pretty and made me smile. In talking over my inspirations with a friend, she decided to dig in and do some research for me. Here’s what emerged:
eu·ca·lyp·tus
noun
a fast-growing evergreen Australian tree valued for its timber, oil, gum, and resin.
The eucalyptus tree, with the thick root system, has been used in the purification of marshlands and swamps. The tree soaks up water, often dirtied, and releases pure water vapor through its leaves into the air. Purification often requires the presence of dirtied materials before the purified substance can be harvested. This is much like the formation of charcoal to be used in the purification of drinking water. Charcoal is made from organic animal and plant materials through the process of burning, thus forming ash before achieving a purified substance.
pea·cock
noun
a bird which has very long tail feathers with eye-like markings and which can be fanned out.
Peacocks are the most beautiful and colorful bird in the world. They symbolize many things, among which is beauty.
Beauty from Ashes.
This simple arrangement, born as just a simple office decoration now carries a lot of meaning for me. It encompasses the heart of why I share my story: because I have seen God make beauty from ashes out of my own life and I know He can do the same for you.
You are not alone.
