Thoughts About Tulips
This time of year it’s hard to know exactly when spring is here to stay. My heart jubilantly sings, “It’s here!” as I bask in the gentle sunshine on my face. And then the very next day, it snows again, and it feels as if spring will never come. But my tulips seem to know otherwise. They are a quiet, yet radiant reminder of God’s promises and his faithfulness.
Like clockwork, year after year in early March, my tulips push through the dark, rich earth. First, a sturdy green leaf point appears, then another, and another. And then one day, they burst into a riot of color—many-hued pinks, yellows, and reds. I am reminded once again of God’s promise in Genesis 8:22, when after the flood, he said, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
What an enormous comfort that must have been to Noah and his family. They had just survived a cataclysmic event, and God reassures them that the predictable cycles of seasons for planting and harvest would continue. God himself would see to it, and for thousands of years, he has kept that promise. The old familiar hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, speaks of this truth:
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Another thing I’ve noticed about my tulips is that they brave the weather's ups and down with the greatest of ease. Snow again? No problem. They keep reaching for sunshine and sky—they somehow seem to know it’s there beyond the clouds. No stress, no bother, no worry. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:28 to “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.” Consider means to pay attention to carefully. Though my tulips are obviously not lilies, the principle is the same: don’t be anxious, because God’s got it all under control.
Lastly, have you ever stopped to really look at a tulip? They are exquisite—the perfect handiwork of a Creator whose designs are often beyond our comprehension. Even King Solomon, with all of his kingly robes and jewels could not compare with the delicate beauty of a flower petal. Jesus makes it clear that if God so arrays the flowers, will he not also take care of you? Yes, a resounding yes!
So, on this wintry March day, as I look out my window, I see little green tips poking through the snow. Soon, very soon, their bright colors will unfurl, bringing beauty to our broken world, while gently reminding us of the God who is ever faithful.
Scripture for meditation: Matthew 6:25-33