In the Bulb

“In the bulb there is a flower;
In the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise:
Butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
There’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season,
Something God alone can see.”
– from Hymn of Promise by Natalie Sleeth

It’s time to wake up my amaryllis bulbs. All winter, they have been sleeping dry and lifeless under the basement stairs. But now that it is Lent, they need to wake up so they can send up the two-foot stalks that will bear brilliant red flowers come Easter. I will carefully free them from their pots, brush off the old dirt, and place them in fresh soil. Then I will begin to water them again. Soon, what looks old and dead will spring forth with new life.

I find this a fitting metaphor for Lent. My spiritual life is like the amaryllis bulb – full of potential, but often in a kind of slumber during the long, cold days of winter. Lent provides a time to brush off the “old dirt,” so to speak, and to take root in fresh soil. It’s a time for watering and sunlight and spiritual growth so that, come Easter, I am ready for a joyous burst of color and new life.

But now, here at the beginning of Lent, what God plans to do in me this year is just a promise, like the promise contained in the amaryllis bulb. So, I do the work of Lent knowing that there’s “a spring that waits to be. Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

Blessings to you as you wait for your spring.

Pastor Mark

Don’t forget to sign up for the Adult Confirmation: Christianity Basics course that starts March 18 and runs through May 6. Sign up online or at church.