Pink Toadflax

I found this rather attractive pink toadflax growing out of a wall. It looks a most unlikely location for anything to survive, much less bloom so gloriously. This plant is known to grow by railway lines, in stony waste ground and other apparently inhospitable places. Similarly, when planting wildflowers, one is advised not to delicately sow them in rich, manicured compost, but scatter them on regular soil. This better simulates their natural habitats and results in the best flowering.

I sometimes wonder at the growth of Christianity in such inhospitable climes as shia Iran, communist China and romish South America. Yet here in northern Europe, with our enviable Christian heritage, growth is poor. We have freedom, wealth and good example, but our churches are small or closing. I wonder if God blesses the stoniest ground while the good soil is left fallow, allowing weeds and thorns to grow ahead of the great clearing.