The crocus and hope
As I write today, the wind howls and meteorologistsare promising frigid weather for the next several days. The weekend may includeprecipitation in undetermined kind and amount. Mercy. My Canadian and northern U.S.friends are probably laughing at my winter weather issues, but we folks in theSouth live in the sunshine and struggle with these arctic blasts.
It’sabout this time of the year I start watching in nature for a hopeful sign ofspring.
Ican usually count on that coming in the form of a crocus.
The crocus dates to at least severalhundred years before Christ and is included in writings from most of recordedhistory . Saffron which is taking form the fall blooming crocus is mentioned inthe Song of Solomon (4:13-14) and is one of the most expensive spices in theworld.
For me, a crocus is an example of what thePsalmist calls a sign of God’s goodness. (Psalm 86:17).
When the ground is frozen solid, and evencovered with icy precipitation, somehow a crocus can push through the seeming permafrostand unfold its yellow, purple, or white petals as if to say, “Hey, keep up yourhope. Spring is coming.”
And don’t we need that encouragement rightnow? I see the loving nature of God in the crocus because God knew we wouldneed the shot of beauty the crocus brings at this bleakest time of year.
You won’t see photos of Christmasgatherings on my social media this year, because things didn’t go as planneddue to sickness and other issues—a lot of disappointment. Some of thatcontinues, but I’ll tell you this, despite all that’s been going on, we arekeeping up our hope.
Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit youmay abound in hope” (Romans 15:13). Even if the crocus doesn’t bloom for somereason, we still hope because God has given us His Spirit for encouragement andinspiration to keep our eyes looking up, looking forward to who God is and allthat He will do. And if we’re talking about signs, look no further than thecross, because friends that is the ultimate sign of God’s goodness, signifyingwhat Jesus did for you.
Maybe your Christmas didn’t turn out theway you planned, or your New Year is not off to a great start, still we hope. Weturn our eyes on the One who Peter called our “Living Hope” (I Peter 1:3). Likethe crocus pushes up through the stoney ground, God will help us to pushthrough these tough times, because the good news is that this is only a season, and one season gives way to another.Hold on to the Lord.
Still, when I step outside, I’ll bescanning the ground just to check if something green is pushing up, because ifit is, a new beginning can’t be far behind.
I’m looking forward to it.
Keep up your hope, friends.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
