I love spring flowers.
So, when I had a sudden burst of energy this morning,
I used up all my allotment of said energy
to plant some spring bulbs.
And as I strained and struggled with the task
that would have been but a minor chore
only a few years ago,
I remembered the words that a good friend
had shared with me last weekend.
He sent me a text which read,
"I have two words from the Lord for you:
'winter wheat.'"
I trusted this friend enough to know that I needed to
pay attention
when he felt something for me while praying.
So I researched "winter wheat" and found some interesting facts. Did you know that there is a term for plants which require a set amount of time in cooler temperatures in order to bear flowers? That term is vernalization, and applies to many familiar plants, especially to winter wheat, which is sown in autumn, and harvested the next summer or early autumn. When we lived in farm country I remember the beauty of a field of freshly sprouted winter wheat, the vivid emerald green flashing against the reds and golds of the adjacent autumn leaves. It felt almost cruel to me, to think of those tender and weak-looking blades shivering under the blanket of snow that was soon to come.
And, it's the same for my beloved spring bulbs:
they have to get planted now,
before the winter freeze settles into the ground,
but early enough so that their required
time of cold temperatures can be met.
There is a slow time that is required before those plants can bear their beautiful flowers, a slow time under the cold and ice before they can bring to fullness the harvest for which they were created.
And my heart had to ask the question then,
Is there a slow and icy time
that is required for
those of us
who have been planted
in these dark and
dreary-feeling-places
where trials run deep?
Could it be that the cold season
has to happen
before the fullness of the harvest
can come to fruition?
Every fall, I dread the cold and icy season
that I know is coming.
But my ears are open to hear a new song
this time,
a song that relishes this Season of Slow,
because I can trust my
Master Gardener
to watch over this tender plant
while the winds are howling
and the snow is falling.
The time of awakening will bear the fruit
and the beautiful flower
for which this season has been
the preparation.
This is Day 25 for the #Write31Days Challenge,
and we are on the Home Stretch for these
#31Days of Listening with Chronic Illness!
I am linking today over at these great sites:
