Daffodil Delight

Daffodils, a few of my favorite things, are in full bloom.

Despite snow  and winter rain, they rise from the frozen earth like yellow trumpets to announce the coming spring.

These Narcissus are the first born among a parade of perennial flowers that appear in my yard throughout the year. They are beacons of hope on a winter’s day; a promise that new life is present even though the naked trees appear dead and weeds encroach my dormant flower beds.  

In late November, I planted 60 bulbs on a hill in my backyard. When February came, daffodils from the bulbs I’d planted years ago, resurrected in my front yard. But there was no sign of yellow life on my daffodil hill.

I walked around the neighborhood and witnessed the mass of daffodils and wondered what I did wrong. Did I plant too early, too late? Was there too little rain, not enough sun? Maybe the gophers…..

And then a few days ago, my heart leapt. Short green stalks stretched heavenward; right on schedule.

When it comes to being a Christian, I’m impatient. I want to see immediate growth. I want my sanctification, the perfection of my faith, to be instant rather than a process.

If only I’d learned certain spiritual truths yesterday instead of today I’d be further along in my Christian walk.

Not to mention all the faith seeds I planted in other people’s lives. Why aren’t they growing in the Lord?

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says, “I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives. After the first steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.”

Truly, I’m a work in progress. And the power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within me. As a believer, I’m not dead in my sins even though in the winter of discontent I appear to be so.

I’m alive in Christ! And “I am sure of this,

that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Like my daffodils, I will rise and bloom in His presence….. right on schedule.

By His will and for His glory!

                                                                              ,

Author: Karen Foster

I'd like to say I've changed, but after decades of living, I still have the same four passions. My relationship with Jesus, spending time with family, attending live theater, and writing devotions & first-person stories about a loving, faithful God who reveals Himself in our every day circumstances. View all posts by Karen Foster