Lantana on my mind

Lantana is just about my favorite plant. We grow it in North Carolina as a specialty ornamental, getting it at Home Depot to electrify a backyard with color and to attract butterflies. 

Here in Kenya, it grows everywhere - roadside, hillside, countryside, everywhere.  Somehow it's comforting to me to see such a valued plant in NC as a common occurrence in this beautiful country. 

Forgive me for getting metaphorical for a moment, but after talking with Lorene Tripp about relational poverty (see her post below), this idea just struck me: the lantana is a bit like the rich, abundant relational life of this Kenyan culture.  In NC, I find myself laboring to intentionally cultivate relationships in very controlled and limited ways - purposefully scheduling hangout times with friends and family, controlling and dictating how and when these good things develop, and so forth. Here in Kenya, relational richness runs wild and grows everywhere, filling gaps and taking root wherever it may. The climate suits it.