Black Women Have It Going On

Monday, September 14, 2026

Good morning from Colorado! Have you ever thrown something away because you didn’t recognize its value? I know I have. Sometimes we discard things because they don’t look like what we expected, don’t seem useful, or simply aren’t what we asked for. But lately I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to overlook a blessing when it doesn’t arrive looking like a blessing. And that thought came to me through an unlikely source: a squirrel, three pecan seedlings, and my cousin.

Now, my cousin comes across as tough as nails. She has what I call her “street answers” to life, and if you bring up something she doesn’t know or doesn’t see the way she sees it, you can almost feel the door close. She is also faithful, attends church, and can tell you some of the most beautiful Christian experiences. The funny thing is, sometimes she’ll describe a Christian lesson that sounds exactly like something she is learning in her own life without realizing she’s actually talking about herself. She’s growing older, dealing with some challenges, and thinking about finding work that isn’t as mentally taxing. So when she told me about what was happening with her plants, I immediately started thinking about possibilities.

She had several plants sitting on the balcony of her apartment. A squirrel had apparently discovered those pots and kept digging around in them. She didn’t know exactly what the squirrel was doing, but she eventually found out. Three little pecan trees were growing in her pots. The squirrel had been taking pecans from the beautiful pecan trees near her apartment complex and burying them in her pots. Those little pecans had done what seeds do: they began to grow.

When my cousin decided to bring her plants back inside, she noticed the little trees but didn’t recognize them. She pulled one out and threw it away. Then she pulled another one, but this time she noticed it was attached to a pecan. That’s when she realized she had three pecan seedlings. And what did she do?

She threw them away.

I almost wanted to reach through the phone!

I told her, “Girl! You could have gotten at least $15 for those seedlings!” But she wasn’t interested. She wants a particular kind of cherry tree, and in her words, “That’s it! That’s all!”

And that’s when I started thinking.

How many times do we do the same thing?

We ask God for one thing, and when something different shows up, we dismiss it. We pray for an opportunity, but because it doesn’t look like the opportunity we imagined, we don’t recognize it. We ask for a new direction, but when something small appears, we decide it isn’t enough.

What if the blessing doesn’t look like the blessing?

My cousin saw unwanted plants.

I saw an opportunity.

She saw something to throw away.

I saw something that could potentially be planted, nurtured, and sold.

Now, I’m not saying those three pecan seedlings were some guaranteed business opportunity from God. Maybe they were simply three pecans that a squirrel buried in the wrong place. But I do believe the moment gave me something worth thinking about.

Sometimes we don’t recognize potential because we’re looking for a finished product.

We see a seed and don’t see a tree.

We see an idea and don’t see a business.

We see a beginning and don’t see the possibility.

We see something different from what we asked for and assume it must not be what we need.

But God has a way of reminding us that small things can become something much bigger.

Perhaps the question we need to ask isn’t, “Why didn’t God give me what I asked for?”

Perhaps we should also ask:

“What has already been placed in my hands?”

Maybe there is something there worth examining before we throw it away.

The Takeaway for Us

1. Don’t be too quick to discard what you don’t understand.
Something may have potential even when we can’t see it yet.

2. What we receive may not look like what we requested.
A different answer doesn’t automatically mean it isn’t a good answer.

3. Learn to recognize beginnings.
Not everything valuable arrives fully developed. Sometimes it starts as a seed.

The Call to Action

Today, I want you to think about something you’ve been overlooking.

Is there an idea you’ve dismissed?

A skill you’ve never developed?

An opportunity you’ve ignored?

A relationship you’ve taken for granted?

A dream you’ve buried?

Or perhaps something God has already placed in your hands that you’ve been asking Him to give you?

Before you throw it away, take another look.

Ask God:

“Lord, is there something here that I haven’t recognized yet?”

You might be surprised by what you discover.

Scripture

Zechariah 4:10 (KJV)

“For who hath despised the day of small things?”

A seed is small.

A beginning is small.

An idea is small.

But small doesn’t mean insignificant.

15 Minutes with God

Father, help me recognize the things You place in my life.

Give me eyes to see potential where I might otherwise see problems. Give me patience when something is still in its beginning stages and wisdom to know what should be nurtured and what should be released.

Don’t let me throw away something valuable simply because it doesn’t look like what I expected.

Help me remember that You can take something small and give it purpose far beyond what I can see.

And when I don’t understand what is growing in my life, give me the wisdom to pause before I pull it up by the roots.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

I’ll see you tomorrow for another 15 Minutes with God.