Flor del Año

The other day a gal who has grown up in a rough neighborhood of Villa Nueva, Guatemala, was giving me a botany lesson. There was a team constructing a bedroom for her and her siblings, and it just so happens that their land is on a hillside, overlooking the whole city of Villa Nueva:

Right outside the window, this plant was growing:

It's a weed, not grown domestically, and not very well-liked because it gives off a less-than-desirable odor. She called it 'Flor del Año' (Flower of the year). I can't seem to find any info online about it by that name, but maybe someone reading this might be able to help me out with that.

Anyhow, its beauty struck me... ever since I first saw it along the side of the road last summer I have wanted to pull over and take a picture. It seems to grow even in the most desolate of places, bringing a ray of beauty.

María is a flor del año. She has grown up on a slope of the city, in an overcrowded home, with an abusive father. She is poor and lacks self-esteem, and on her own has no resources to accomplish her dreams. What she has goes to her family, and she is helping to care for her younger siblings and unable to find work or pursue studies at the university. It's not the life anyone would carve out for themselves.
But she is growing in the Lord. From the 2 hours I spent talking with her, I could see that she trusts God  to protect and provide. And I can see she is a source of hope to her own family. But that doesn't mean it's easy. That doesn't mean she is treated as the princess that she is to the Lord.  She is simply a bush growing on the side of the road, not worth stopping for.
But to me, she is like a ray of beauty in a desolate place.. and evidence of God's grace and faithfulness.

Please keep this girl and others living in the 'lowest places' in your thoughts and prayers.
She reminds us that "grace flows downhill... and pools up in the lowest places."

Kim <><