My eyes are red and itchy. A constant tickle plays on the tip of my large nose. My airway is a little tight, and each day I wonder how much of my voice will be useable. The daily allergy pill helps. (Woe to me when I forget it!) I love Spring!
No, really, I love spring. I rejoice when my orchard begins to bloom. The purple flowers of the peach, the white blossoms of the plums and pears, the soft pink of the apples are as welcome as they are beautiful. Their sneeze inducing fragrance is the sign of delicious and bountiful fruit to come. The fawn lilies mark for me the change of seasons. Even in the cold nights and rainy mornings, their upside down yellow petals make me smile as I slosh through the muddy woods. The neglected camellia still blesses us each spring with her loveliness. The rhodies follow soon after with their bushy bursts of color. Even the purple lilacs, the wisteria, and the death bushes (English laurel, seriously my throat seizes just thinking about them), are so lovely I would never give them up. The flowers are good for my heart and emotional well-being. They are a vital part of a thriving ecosystem. The bees and the butterflies depend on them so that we can enjoy our daily bread (or fruit). Even if my vision blurs a little from their pollen, my heart rejoices at the sight of them.
Flowers, even if I shake my fist at Adam’s curse, the flowers are one more blessing in God’s creation. For us, flowers are symbols of beauty, love, and life. In Scripture, however, flowers are as much a symbol of death. Flowers don’t last. My favorite spring flowers are already long gone. Soon the rhododendrons and azaleas will drop their blooms and other flowers must sprout up to replace them. The lilies and irises will wither away A flower’s life is tragically short.
God points to the flowers to remind us to consider the length of our days.
“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like a wildflower in the countryside. Grass withers, flowers fade, when the breath of the Lord blows on them. Yes, the people are grass. Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
No matter how we live our lives. No matter the glory of our works. No matter the snows, droughts, and challenges we overcome to thrive, our lives are short. Soon my time will be over. Our perspective on the world, our thoughts, opinions, passions, and schemes are just a breath of time. What we know today will be disproved tomorrow. What we toil over now will not be known in fifty years. The world events which shake the nations and cause the wringing of many hands will be relegated to history (a history which it appears no one will read anyway.) Compared to the world, even more, compared to God’s eternity, what are our lives?
As I look at the flowers blooming now, I remember my life is short, but that cannot make me sad. Rather, that knowledge fills me with wonder at the wisdom and love of God. Each flower has its purpose from him. With out those early first blooms, the bees my orchard needs would starve in the cold. My spring walks would have less joy. Soon after the time of those first blooms, others, then others, and still others, peonies, lupine, columbine, crocosmia, sunflowers, aster, mums and so many more will all bloom in their proper season. They too will share their life and beauty with the world.
Jesus looked at the flowers and said, “Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these… So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:28, 29, 34. In other words, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, bloom today.” Today you have work to do. Today you have beauty, love, kindness, and mercy to show. Today you have your little place in creation to fulfill. Bloom today. Your gardener has placed you where and when he wants you to live. He rejoices and is pleased when by faith you live each day. Look at the flowers. Smell the roses. (Take your allergy medicine). But most of all, don’t worry; our lives may be short, but God’s promises endure forever. Today is temporary, but God’s love, his forgiveness and mercy, they never end. Now is your time to bloom in his love.