Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12 NIV
To everything there is a season and Spring has a front row seat. Recently we traveled to Seattle and had the privilege to visit a Tulip festival. One of the gardens plant over 1 million bulbs each year. Tens of thousands visit the garden to walk through the acres and acres of planted tulips. The picture in today’s blog was taken overlooking that garden.
Today’s verse was preceded, of course, by verse 11. “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.” When I first moved to Alabama from Florida as a college student decades ago, I experienced my first true change of seasons. I remember writing to my mom and telling her everyone was wearing gray and black. The sun would be hidden by clouds for days in a row. My Florida experience was sunshine almost everyday with an occasional afternoon thunderstorm. People reflected the wet and gloomy look of the season. BUT then came spring. The flowers, leaves, grass and the girls were all displaying a new found beauty.
I want to share some of my thoughts about the perspective of Spring.
Spring reminds us…
- Seasons only last for a short time and then change. Appreciate what you are going through, you are not stuck, you are going through it.
- New life comes from things that look like they are dead.
- Each Spring flower is unique (Pam said that every tulip was unique, I said in jest, they all look the same and “look, here are two identical ones”). When you get close enough you can tell the characteristics that make each one special…just like God made you.
- Solomon seems to indicate that the flowers are also singing by their display of beauty. Laughter, singing and playing are appropriate activities for children and parents alike. ( I sang the first verses of the sound of music while in the tulips…Pam tolerated my childlikeness….”the hills are alive with the sound of music”. Perhaps the writer of the lyrics was familiar with today’s verse
- God takes care of the flowers of the field and He will take care of your needs. Your most basic needs will be met in glorious ways.
- Taking time to smell the roses or just appreciate their beauty is a rejuvenating experience.
- Flowers fade, but God’s word will last forever. So take time to enjoy the life giving beauty of the word of God. It nourishes your soul and spirit.
- Some gardens are the result of a lot of work and tilling of the ground, while God also lets the wildflowers return year after year. Both have a beauty of their own. Let the eye of the beholder grow in their appreciation of all things.
For my Aussie friends, I know that you are entering your Fall season, but your Spring will be coming soon.
“The cooing of doves is in the air” – Love is on the move.
God loves you a whole bunch and so do I.
Blessings Love y’all
