Pansies have a way of making me smile. These winter annuals, that tend to die as soon as hot weather comes to Northeast Florida, are welcoming, friendly flowers. As a gardener I prefer to plant perennial flowers that will live year-round as they are a lot less work. But there is something about pansies that makes them worth all the effort for a few months of their beauty in the garden.

We all have things in our life that we think are worth the extra time and effort they take to nurture and develop. For some it may be practicing a musical instrument, taking walks or playing a sport, spending time with friends, or reading good books. For others it may be baking bread or painting or some other kind of artistic expression.

I have read that a balanced spiritual life has these four elements: prayer, work, study and leisure. Our Puritan work ethic in this country is so strong that many of us have difficulty with leisure. And some people may think that once they finished college or high school there is no need to keep on studying anything.

As an aging population in the world continues to grow, we have choices about how we will spend our retired years. I watched a movie recently, "The Intern," with Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway, where a retired widower returns to the workforce due to boredom. I enjoyed the fact that eventually the young adults in the movie came to appreciate the wisdom of the older man and he was able to share his experience with those who could benefit from it.

All of us are like flowers in a way - we bloom and then we eventually fade and die. When others look at us, do we make them smile? Are we welcoming and friendly?  Do we bring beauty, truth and goodness to our world? Do we take time for prayer, work, study and leisure?  Which of these four elements do we need to spend more time on in 2019?