The Florist’s Mistake

When my sister Diana called and asked, “How are you?” I did not say, “Fine.” I blurted out the whole truth. I told her all about the stresses I was having as I prepared for an event at work, and feeling like quite the martyr, I exclaimed, “Someone should give me a plaque!” On the day of my event, when I saw a man walk by my office window carrying a gorgeous floral arrangement, I knew instantly that it was for me from Diana.

I was right, except that the card was not just signed “Diana.” She had included my mother, my other five siblings, two of my nephews, and a niece. It was amazing! There was just one thing: The card read, “You never seem to admire us.” I read it again. “There must be some mistake,” I reasoned. However, I had carried on at length about myself in that last phone call. Maybe I should have asked more questions and been more interested in the others. “The flowers came, and they’re just gorgeous!” I told Diana’s voicemail.

“It’s just like you to be so thoughtful! But, umm, the card says I never seem to admire you, and I really do; I admire all of you, and I will try to do better at expressing that in the future.” Before long, she called back. “The card was supposed to say, ‘You never cease to amaze us’!” “Ohhh!” I laughed, but she was not amused. “I’m going to call them and have them do it over!” she exclaimed. “Don’t worry about it,” I assured her.

“This will make a great story!” “I wasn’t trying to send you a story. I was trying to send you words of affirmation!” A few days later I received a large, beautiful card from the florist. This time, and I am not kidding, it read, “You never seem to amaze us!” It took a while for Diana to see the humor in all of this, but we have laughed about it often. We have also noted how destructive the experience would have been if I had not checked with her about the message to know her real intentions. God has called me to be His florist, to pass on His message to the world. In both how I live and what I say, am I getting it straight?

Cheri Corder