Thursday Thought
The Blessing of Springtime & Flowers
I am far from a master gardener, but I sure do like “playing” in the dirt and planting flowers in the springtime. Today’s post focuses on the restorative nature of God’s good creation of flowers in Spring. I hope you’ll enjoy a few words and some lovely photos …
These beautiful blooms were on display at a flower stand during our recent stay in Dublin, Ireland, and seemed to fit well with this stanza from a poem by the Irish poet, John O’Donohue:
As Spring rain softens the Earth with surprise
May your Winter places be kissed by light….
A couple years ago, I attended a workshop exploring “the dark night of the soul.” The “dark night” spiritual experience is a bleak season—perhaps akin to the seemingly endless dark days of a long winter—during which the soul feels disconnected from God and from meaningful life purpose. While “the dark night of the soul” is disconcerting, most who understand spiritual formation explain it is in fact a vital time when deep, unseen, “passive” work of the Spirit is taking place. I believe this to be true in my own spiritual journey.
The presenter of the workshop wisely encouraged participants who feel like they may be in this season to get checked out by a physician to rule out serious physical or mental health conditions, but she also gave counsel I thought was quite lovely.
She explained the “dark night” is not the time to engage in intense study, rigorous prayer, or throwing oneself into a taxing service project. Rather, it is a time to be gracious and nurture the soul with creativity and beauty. One of the activities she suggested was gardening.
Even though I am not currently experiencing a “dark night of the soul,” I’ve thought about this suggestion as I’ve planted a few vegetables, herbs, and flowers the past few days. Springtime is assuredly an easy time to revel in the beauty of God’s creation.
After returning home from spending a week in the region of Assisi, Italy, where we learned about St. Francis and visited many of the sites where he ministered in the early 13th century, my husband bought me this garden art statue of Francesco. I love the way it looks showcased against the red azalea shrub and tiny blue ground cover blossoms.
Wildflowers growing alongside a rural highway in the springtime speak to my soul of freedom and remind me of one of my favorite verses of scripture, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free …. Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
During our drive through the Palouse region in Central Idaho on Memorial Day, the brilliant yellow rapeseed flowers from which canola oil is made were emerging in the fields. The variety of colors in this farmland scene captured my imagination, and I was glad Ron pulled off to photograph it.
Flowers galore adorned the cemetery where my in-laws are buried in Greencreek, Idaho. I realize some of the artificial bouquets are practical, but I’d rather have a single real long stem rose than a whole arrangement of “like-real” flowers.
The graceful Japanese iris abundantly grows every spring in our yard. (If you’d like to come get a clump, let me know because this sun-loving perennial is very prolific!)
We have an old-fashioned variety of peonies that originated in my grandfather’s garden almost 100 years ago. The delicate pink one is my favorite.
I’ll close today’s post with this Celtic springtime blessing:
May your troubles melt away like frost in the morning sun, and may new blessings bloom like flowers in spring.
Blessings on your journey through the final weeks of spring!
