But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. Psalm 5:11

Yes, there really is a “compassion flower.” It’s a hybrid created by crossing a pansy and a violet, and it is a lovely flower. But I nominate pineland hibiscus, with its blood-red heart and pale yellow petals, as a naturally occurring compassion flower. How could anyone be other than kind and caring in its presence?

The language of Creation is Divine Love.

In my canticle of creation, the bayou is my brother and the cypress trees are my soul sisters. Their spring song is all tender, feathery green. The summer verse features solos by birds too varied and plentiful to number, embellished by inaudible (you must listen carefully!) trills of dragonfly and damselfly niads climbing the trunks to break forth as winged jewels, leaving impossibly small exoskeletons now split down the back but clinging to the bark long after the life they sheltered has departed. In autumn, the throats of my sisters deepen to coppery red and gold, transforming the dark surface…