. . . was a welcome surprise today! It had slept beneath the surface of the earth for a long time. I knew it had been there. I planted it that spot many years ago. But with winter still holding a tight grip and the preoccupying cares of life, I had forgotten to keep an eye out for this first gift of spring. What a perfectly fresh face it has. Unlike the sad lady statute standing in the garden beside it. But then she has faithfully stood her watch unprotected from weather and elements of time. In a few more years from now, she will crumble. But not the daffodil. Within a week or so, this sweet new daffodil will do more than crumble. It will die. But it will die to live again. And again. And again. Repeating its death and resurrection for more years than I will be alive on earth to see.
But today I celebrate this iconic harbinger of spring. Like on the way to town, turning a corner and suddenly spotting a field of robins, this first daffodil brought a rush of joy, renewed hope, a confirmation change is on the way. I can hang on. I can thank God for this day and for letting me live this long on earth.
Thank God for daffodils. They remind me of God’s promise to believers. Our bodies blooming fresh and whole for a moment in time, will die and like bulbs be planted beneath the surface of earth for a stretch of time. But God promises we will rise where we are planted and bloom again. And when we awake in Christ, when we turn that corner, we will experience a sudden rush of joy, a welcome surprise in a place where we will never sink below the surface of earth to die again. We will live and bloom forever!
Keep heart…
Connie Lakey Martin, Ed.
2/8/2025