Bird-of-paradise

My Bird-of-paradise plant, given to me by church friends, flowered last month, and flowers still. My house in winter is cold, so I wondered if it would prosper, but its patience with the temperatures paid off, and two lovely orange flowers now adorn my lounge.

As I age, I seem to suffer from more runny noses than I used to. “Is it pollen?”, someone thoughtfully asked. Allergies can develop later in life and having flowering plants in the home might be a cause. Thankfully, Bird-of-paradise has an OPALS (Ogren Plant Allergy Scale) rating of 1, and is considered "allergy-fighting" and produces no airborne pollen. Having a low pollen count is one thing, fighting it is quite another. Both, however, are welcome. It is bad enough being affected by external pollen, without having it manufactured in one’s own house.

We have little control over world events, and even, increasingly, national ones. I vote in each local election, but have little power to elect parties that won’t keep increasing the Rates and wasting money on pointless projects. I can, however, exercise authority in my home. I can control the bad language on television and social media, I can censor the music, I can set the atmosphere and alter the tone. This might be harder when one shares a house with incalcitrant family members or housemates, but we have a better chance than anywhere else. So let us put our houses in order, and make our homes little beacons of light and truth, removing sources of irritation, disharmony and lies.

The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Proverbs 3:33

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