Tulips as Teachers
It has been interesting and thought-provoking to observe the tulips as they grow this spring – they grow the same way every year, but this year seemed to hit differently.
In the past weeks, I’ve watched, considered and mulled over life-connecting thoughts that have truly blessed me on my spring flower-watching journey.
In life we have varying seasons of seen and unseen growth. With tulips being spring flowers, their rest and unseen growth encompasses the remainder of the year and happens underground.
Their visible growth only lasts for a short time but, watching them this year, I’ve noticed the visible growth is not constant – it depends on the temperature, the precipitation, the sunshine, the wind – all things it cannot control, but all contribute to it’s daily transformation.
I have observed amazing transformation on warm, sunny days and slow or stagnant growth on cold, rainy days – and in these observations, the life connections have filled my mind.
In our own lives, in so many ways, the tulip’s stages of fast and slow growth – and all growth in between – mimic our own daily lives:
There are times of rest
There are seasons of unseen growth (when the Lord is working on our inner hearts and minds)
There is visible growth that happens in fits and starts
And all this is God’s plan for His creation – not a steady hike up to the mountain top, but seasons, steps ahead and steps back, times of waiting for His guidance, and times to move full-speed ahead – like traveling a road through rolling fields and valleys.
These inconsistent times of growth don’t bother the tulips – they are part of their life cycle. And so it is with us! We were not created for full-speed ahead at all times. We were not created for rest at all times. But we were created for growth at all times, whether it be seen or unseen – in our hearts, minds and souls – to keep learning, loving, living, always in concert and collaboration with God’s plan.
🌷🌷🌷 Stop and notice the spring flowers and the ways they can teach us! 🌷🌷🌷