Perennial lessons....
I was at the kitchen counter just now, sending down food garbage to the disposal that lives under my sink......and unloading the dishwasher and stacking the dirty dishes of the day to ready them for a good scrub.......and saw my little bud vase next to the sink. It's dutch china.....from my grandmother's house.....and its perfect for a few sprigs of lilacs. I've been picking them every few days and enjoying them next to my sink for a week or two.....and tonight the vase is empty because this particular perennial is almost done blooming. I love lilacs. I love the smell. I love the promise of an end to winter cold and the anticipation of summer.....lilacs make me feel like a child again, playing outside in springtime.
There is a woman in our church who is our "care elder". Her name is Dee. She is also a friend to my mom and has been in a small group with her for years and years. Last sunday, we sat just behind and to the left of Dee and her husband in church. During one worship song, she and her husband were worshiping with one arm raised to Jesus and the other arm linked around each other. Roger and I both noticed the beauty of their worship and their togetherness. He leaned over to me after the song and said this....."The other day I saw Dee out for her walk over noon hour and she stopped by a big lilac bush. She leaned into that bush and just deeply smelled the fragrance for a moment....and then kept walking." That's something I love about her. She is wise. She is mindfully present. She can stop and smell that bush and keep walking without snapping off a sprig.
I'm still in the snapping-off phase of life. I need to take it inside with me so that when I am spending hours and hours in that corner of the house cooking and washing and such, I can see my lilac sprig and feel a smile inside of me. Lilacs bloom in spring and then go away. Why? Why can't they bloom on and on and on?
Maybe its because the Lord created all things.....and because He is not only all-powerful, but all-knowing, and all-loving....and the best artist ever.....He decided to let things bloom for a bit and then let them go and bring something else into fullness.....like Peonies....and Daisies.....and Roses....and lots more. I'm no gardener....but I do love beautiful, fragrant and living things. Flowers....people....music.....
Perennials have a lesson to teach, I think. God would have me know that there is beauty in things that do not stay beautiful always. Maybe he wants me to be appreciative of the present gift....but also faithful and willing to look at what is next....and not grieving what is almost done, or more done (like the daffodils and lillies of Easter season)
Nature....and the rhythm of it....are intentional. The Lord is nudging me to pause a bit and notice the empty bud vase by the sink.....and maybe steal a moment or two in my back yard to sit and listen to whatever He wants to share with me.....so maybe try that too....soon.
For me it won't be tomorrow. I have a full day of visits with pregnant woman and young moms and their kiddos.....and then taking Precious to dance and hoping her anxiety doesn't out-weigh her love to dance....and sitting their to give her courage......and then going to the boys spring choir concert. Neither of them want to go but its worth it to see them on stage singing reverent praises and classic choir pieces in their white shirts and black pants. It matters. Claire wants to hang out in Orange City with the Tulip Festival culture....cuz she is all about it now that she goes to school in Orange City....
I desperately wanted a photo of a lilac bush with this post. I can't make it happen. Picture it....or better yet, go for a walk soon and find one. Lean in. Take a deep breath and drink in the fragrance of it and remember that this, too, shall pass. And then walk on.
There is a woman in our church who is our "care elder". Her name is Dee. She is also a friend to my mom and has been in a small group with her for years and years. Last sunday, we sat just behind and to the left of Dee and her husband in church. During one worship song, she and her husband were worshiping with one arm raised to Jesus and the other arm linked around each other. Roger and I both noticed the beauty of their worship and their togetherness. He leaned over to me after the song and said this....."The other day I saw Dee out for her walk over noon hour and she stopped by a big lilac bush. She leaned into that bush and just deeply smelled the fragrance for a moment....and then kept walking." That's something I love about her. She is wise. She is mindfully present. She can stop and smell that bush and keep walking without snapping off a sprig.
I'm still in the snapping-off phase of life. I need to take it inside with me so that when I am spending hours and hours in that corner of the house cooking and washing and such, I can see my lilac sprig and feel a smile inside of me. Lilacs bloom in spring and then go away. Why? Why can't they bloom on and on and on?
Maybe its because the Lord created all things.....and because He is not only all-powerful, but all-knowing, and all-loving....and the best artist ever.....He decided to let things bloom for a bit and then let them go and bring something else into fullness.....like Peonies....and Daisies.....and Roses....and lots more. I'm no gardener....but I do love beautiful, fragrant and living things. Flowers....people....music.....
Perennials have a lesson to teach, I think. God would have me know that there is beauty in things that do not stay beautiful always. Maybe he wants me to be appreciative of the present gift....but also faithful and willing to look at what is next....and not grieving what is almost done, or more done (like the daffodils and lillies of Easter season)
Nature....and the rhythm of it....are intentional. The Lord is nudging me to pause a bit and notice the empty bud vase by the sink.....and maybe steal a moment or two in my back yard to sit and listen to whatever He wants to share with me.....so maybe try that too....soon.
For me it won't be tomorrow. I have a full day of visits with pregnant woman and young moms and their kiddos.....and then taking Precious to dance and hoping her anxiety doesn't out-weigh her love to dance....and sitting their to give her courage......and then going to the boys spring choir concert. Neither of them want to go but its worth it to see them on stage singing reverent praises and classic choir pieces in their white shirts and black pants. It matters. Claire wants to hang out in Orange City with the Tulip Festival culture....cuz she is all about it now that she goes to school in Orange City....
I desperately wanted a photo of a lilac bush with this post. I can't make it happen. Picture it....or better yet, go for a walk soon and find one. Lean in. Take a deep breath and drink in the fragrance of it and remember that this, too, shall pass. And then walk on.
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