THE TWO BLOOMS IN MY GARDEN

With visions of beautiful spring flowers, last October, I planted 30-40 crocus, daffodil and tulip bulbs.  I carefully sectioned off a portion of ground, mixed in fresh dirt, placed each bulb in the correct position at just the right depth and smoothed just the right amount of soil to cover them for the long winter.  Winter came in December and hung around until March as my bulbs rested peacefully under a deep blanket of snow.  Finally, the sun began to peak out once in awhile and the earth warmed ever so slowly…where were my beautiful spring blooms? Finally 4, yes only 4 tiny shoots appeared and in early May, I was rewarded with 2 beautiful red tulips.

I rejoiced over the 2 blooms but I was also a little discouraged.  Where were the other 30?  They had received the same attention, they had been planted in the same soil.  I had taken such care to make sure they were pointed in the right direction.  The fresh dirt had been placed over them at the exact suggested depth; WHAT HAPPENED?  Walking around the neighborhood, I noticed all the other beautiful spring flowers, proudly filling the landscape at other houses.  Some were growing among rocks, others could barely be discerned from the weeds growing around them; none looked as if they had received the care I had given my blooms.  I had only 2.  My flower bed was so bare in comparison that I almost missed the beauty of my 2 tulips standing strong, opening their lovely petals to drink in the warmth of the sun.           

I began to think back over 35 years of ministry and all the precious people we have loved, taught, ministered to, and watered with tears in prayer.  Yet, I look at my carefully prepared garden and see only a few blooms.  My neighboring ministers proudly display their lush, full-grown flower beds and I wonder  what did they do that I forgot; where did I go wrong? 

Anyone who has ever planted tulip bulbs will tell you that they multiply, year after year.  If they are not thinned out, the bulb will eventually take over the whole flower bed and you will have an abundance of lovely blooms. You never know how that 1 or 2 will multiply, after they have bloomed.  Your 1or 2 may each reach 2 or 3 which will reach 4 or 5 and a multiplicity of blooms will fill the garden.

 Perhaps, next year, some of the dormant bulbs will burst to life and join my 2 blooms reaching toward the warmth of the sun.  Steve and I have received emails and FB posts 5-10 years later, thanking us for ministering the Word to them.  At the time, we thought the tiny bulbs would never respond but the Word was at work, covering them with truth until the shoots finally burst forth. 

Your garden may seem bare standing next to your neighbors but don’t allow your disappointment to dismiss the few beautiful blooms that are standing strong.  Think of the people you have led to a relationship with Jesus Christ; the ones that stand strong in the congregation, lifting their hands in praise to their Savior.  Rejoice in their beauty; God is smiling and all of Heaven is dancing.