D is for...

DAFFODILS

As the winter days and nights begin to blend and never seem to end, we desperately long for the future spring days ahead. Once the cold temperatures start to dissipate, we begin to feel an excitement welling deep within as the days gradually are getting longer and the sun beams overhead brightly lighting our paths ahead. The landscape slowly begins to transform from the dark and bleakness that comes with the winter season into an array of colorful assortments. One of the first signs of spring’s arrival is the greenery that begins to creep up along the banks of the lakes or ponds, along the shoulders of the roads we travel and even in and around varying places in our yards. Within a few days, these small green leafy stems begin to bud and turn into a bright and beautiful daffodil. Daffodils can be compared to the sunshine – the sun warms us physically in the sky from winter’s harsh conditions; while the daffodils can warm our hearts as they provide some shine along the landscapes that cross our paths every day.

As a little girl, we had an abundant amount of daffodils that formed in various locations throughout our yard. I always called them buttercups (even though there is another plant called a buttercup) and always wanted to run smell them as soon as they started to bloom. As I got a little older, I would run out into the yard and pick handfuls of the flowers to bring inside to my mother. Maybe it was a symbolic gesture of a tiny child bringing flowers to her mother or maybe it was just the arrangement of the flowers in a beautiful vase and the fragrance that filled the home, that have left lasting memories imprinted upon my soul. But, either way, as soon as spring had “sprung”, I was racing out the door in a wild search of God’s beautiful, natural gifts to us – gifts that can light up our soul both indoors and outdoors.

I often remember taking drives along the long back country roads with my family, and there guiding our way would be paths of daffodils trailing alongside of the road. It always amazed me how the daffodils seem to blossom in any location. Almost as a little reminder the daffodil is saying that while I may be a tiny, fragile little plant, I can still accomplish many deeds and bring joy to people’s lives and light up their world. Many times, we need to view ourselves as a daffodil or some other plant. We feel like we are firmly rooted in a setting but suddenly someone or something comes along and plucks us out of the ground to put in a vase on display (or so we feel we have been plucked up). Don’t be discouraged about being plucked out of the ground, but rather see it is as an opportunity to be re-located to a place where you can bring warmth and joy to another situation, and realize that while we may be fragile souls, with God’s help, we can accomplish anything that He wants us to accomplish.

By now, most of the daffodils are beginning their spring retreat, but if you can still spot a few here or there, take time to pull over and smell the daffodils! Or grab you a handful to take home and either put in a vase or hold high in the sky and thank the Lord for providing us with some daily sunshine and more of His beautiful creations!