Hydrangeas, Haiti, and Poison that Heals

Hydrangeas, while beautiful, contain cyanide.
A little Haitian boy asks for “poison” for his sores.
Poison that heals. Beauty from ashes.

Hydrangeas: Beauty and Poison

Who can resist the dinner plate-sized balls of beauty that are hydrangeas?

Arrange them in a balloon of blooms at the top of a vase, and they’re a vision to the eyes.

They smell delightful; look like a soft pillow that will make cares drift away; and give a room a feeling of luxury. These flowers are one of my favorite watercolor subjects.

However, research says hydrangeas have a dark side.

Therefore, we could say that hydrangeas are a mixture of beauty (which improves mental health and thus heals) and poison.

Haiti: “I need that poison that heals.”

The beauty versus poison that is hydrangeas reminds me of a story of a little Haitian boy.

Haiti has many opportunities for volunteers to help the unfortunate people living in an unfortunate country. Chet wished to help and spent a few months at a Christian Service International unit, where he met little Franz.

The little boy came to the compound to get medicine for his family.  He started hanging around the gate more and more.  The young volunteer admired the boy’s optimism and good attitude and they became besties.

One day Franz limped down the dirt street toward the compound.  Uh,oh.  Someone needed help.

“What’s up with the foot?”  Chet asked as he ruffled the boy’s tight curls.

“I need some of that poison,”

answered Franz.

“Poison?”

“Yeah, you know, that white stuff you give people with sores.” He picked up his foot and showed Chet the big open sore on the sole.

“Whoo-oo,” Chet whistled. “That looks bad! What happened?”

Although he could easily imagine what happened. The children walked barefoot everywhere, and the streets and dirt yards were polluted with everything else that shared their space. Sores were extremely common, so the compound always kept the “poison” on hand. The antibiotic poison that heals.

Chet fetched the white stuff, and helped Franz apply it to his foot, then wrapped it with a bandage.  (That might stay clean for five minutes.)

While he worked, the volunteer asked the little guy, “Why do you call this poison?  It’s actually antibiotic.”

“Well, you put it on the sore and it kills all those tiny creepy crawly bad things that are living in the sore.  It’s poison.”

Chet could only marvel at the boy’s wisdom, because, scientifically, the white powder was indeed poison.

Fortunately, the story had a happy ending, and Franz’s little foot improved quickly. Poison that heals.

Poison That Heals; Beauty From Ashes

While it’s difficult to endure the turmoil and stress life throws at us, God can supply the poison that heals.

In Isaiah 61:3, God promises the antidote for mourning and heavy spirits. He has the perfect oil of joy to replace sadness, and He can change ashes into beauty.

And so it’s not surprising that fireplace ashes applied to the soil under hydrangea bushes can create even more beauty than its natural soil. Ashes sweeten the soil and the plant puts out a lovely new color of flowers.

The process of healing from emotional scars seems so slow and can feel even more painful than actually going through it. Like ashes applied to soil, time and rains are needed to blend the ashes with the dirt to create the miracle of new color.

We may think the hard things that happen are “poison” and eat away our ability to enjoy life. But meanwhile, God is using it as an antibiotic to bring healing and beauty from the ashes.