in His timing

Every spring break, I take time to go visit Wye Mountain, right outside of Bigelow. A church there has a daffodil field that is a popular spot for photography sessions and family outings. Since the majority of daffodils bloom in the middle of March, the “peak” generally falls during my spring break – it is definitely one of those things where my only response is to praise Creator God.

Daffodils have been my favorite flower since junior high. I once read a book where the heroine was caught in the rain holding a bouquet of daffodils, which I thought painted a beautiful picture. Later, she was given a necklace with a daffodil pendant, and ever since then I have wanted a necklace like that. One of the most creative birthday gifts I ever received was a bag of daffodil bulbs* from my sweet high school best friend Liz. My birthday is in October, which is perfect since generally that is when you want to plant the bulbs, and they still bloom in my parents’ front yard.

There is something so wonderful about these brightly-colored blooms. They are one of the first to announce the arrival of spring, and they draw your attention away from the brown grass or bare trees that often surround them. The trumpet part of the flower lifts itself towards the sun, as if praising the Creator.

Oftentimes, though, you will have a couple flowers that can’t seem to get the timing right. The stalks begin to grow at about the same rate as the others, but they are a little late to blossom. I don’t know why this is, and it can be frustrating to have a garden planted but have one or two that are slow. However, when they finally bloom, they are just as beautiful – and even more so, because the others around them are beginning to fade.

Isn’t that how we all feel at one point or another in our lives? There is something that we can’t figure out or an area in which we aren’t sure why we haven’t moved forward. Looking back on the progression of my life, I see many instances of my timing being behind my friends’. However, my perspective has shifted from frustration due to delay to a growing patience and trust that He who causes rain to fall and the sun to shine will cause me to (metaphorically) bloom in His timing.

Ecclesiastes 3:11, 14 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end... I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him."

Matthew 6:31-34 - "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

*the daffodil bulbs are tied for “most creative gift” with my 18^th birthday present from my friend Scott: a ginormous jar of pickles which barely fit in my locker and gave me a huge shock when I opened it between classes.

[P.S. If you have never read William Wordsworth’s poem “I wander’d lonely as a cloud,” go read it now. It is in my top ten for sure. I definitely quoted the last stanza to myself as I walked around the daffodil field last week.]