One blooming hyacinth
has smiled at me in purple
for almost two weeks.
Spent now, I tuck it’s bulb into the soil
to regroup for next Spring
and then stop by Pikes for another scoop
of bright hope with petals.
~tulips this week!(Thank God for birds and bulbs….soul vitamins
that replace what leaks out each winter.)
Later, bent on soggy knees,
I run my hands over ice storm survivors
~oregano and thyme
still holding their oils to themselves.
The sages and mints are burned crisp and brown;
everything tender looks haggard and worn.
As I place the hothouse hyacinth in it’s harsh new digs
I wonder at the other bulbs long buried below.
Do they stress as the crocus and snowbells,
always fast out of the gate,
already push green fronds toward cold wintry sunshine?
Do they wonder “what’s wrong with me?”
Or fret that maybe if they’d organize more carefully
and work harder
and focus better
and manage time
and money
better
and learn faster
better
and learn faster
(and be less hormonal)
that they’d have a better shot
at being bright yellow
now?
Do they feel they ought to have sprouted
and panic that they’re late
and squirm and tug and wrestle
for release,
despising their dormancy
as they overwinter,
overcrowded
beneath
the
hard
cold
ground?
Or are they not like me?
What are they doing down there anyway
that they rest so deeply and thoroughly,
relaxed with timing
and trust
until grace appears
and then quickly,
like daybreak,
they feel the surge
and ride the swells
up
up
and suddenly
up
up
and suddenly
pushing through rock hard ground
they explode into bloom.
Bending low I whisper
“how do you do it?”
“faith and patience, baby
….faith and patience.”
simple words
lilies and birds
~restlessness reconsidered.
birds and bulbs….soul vitamins
that replace what leaks out each winter – this grabbed me, but then the whole entire piece was just splendid, a perfect, restful, lulling story that sucked me completely in with you. i love your writing so so much!
such good lessons from God's creations.
faith and patience…
restlessness reconsidered…for sure!!
i love your connection to God through the earth and what it produces…you help me see with new eyes!
bending low,
i too, whisper,
to YOU,
i see your words,
that sing like birds,
& are fragrant like flowers,
& i wonder how you do it,
nested in THERE
& bursting with beauty,
to stem out toward sunshine,
up up up,
so MORE can read you,
in this world of AIR & WINGED beings…
~
oh yes, patience & trust
& much anticipation.
xoxox
Soul vitamins…I LOVE this, Jennifer!
Bulbs seem so far away for me here…but you bring them close to mind, thank you!
~Kath
What a wonderful analogy to our spiritual lives…..While reading, I was grabbed with the thought of how impatient I am in the ground waiting for my moment the weather is warm enough for me to bloom…To be content with where I am but strive with all my heart when the time is right…..
I loved these words because I feel a strong connection to the earth and you really "set me to thinking"…..Your words always move me….Thank you dear friend….
I wanted to tell you that the markers you asked about are Pitt Pens and the ones I used on the faces are called AD markers….They came in a portriat set…I got all of them from Cheap Joe's in Boone……They do have a mail order business too……Any more questions, please ask…..
I love this Jen! Nature and God's creation we can learn so much from. Thank you for sharing dear one. Blessings.
until grace appears …
I loved their answer
your words tuck into my heart and grow
your words are a garden filled with rich . lovely
blooms
faith & patience… can I have some?… beautiful analogy. we have to go throgh our winters to experience and appreciate the beauty of the bloom, don't we? So painful, so beautiful, so worth it. You paint such beautiful pictures with your words. xoxo
You will *NEVER* know what a blessing you are to me, Jen, how almost verbatim your words echoed tonight the Lord's words……
….your writing is one of the great gifts in my life right now Girlfriend…..
Thank you for once again blowing on the coals of my heart.
golly you've done it again, another for the book. such great imagery and so many powerful words. "What are they doing down there anyway that they rest so deeply and thoroughly,
relaxed with timing and trust until grace appears" Now that's a state worth reaching for.
you know someday I'd love to see the amazing backgrounds you swirl and paint before you finish them out, I am captivated by the beauty of the abstracts I see in your cards 🙂
Faith and Patience.
A reminder that my dreams
will come true.
Faith and Patience.
You have done wonderful things with the look of your blog, complementing the images and ideas with your poetry. And I really like your site name.
faith and patience. Exactly. Exactly.
you have such creative talent!
Oh am I right with you girlfriend. I was asking that same question of "how do they do that" right along with you. Guess we have to have times of waiting patiently in faith for what we yearn to have NOW!!!! Then when it comes we appreciate it so much more. But… I can't wait…or what I mean is…I'll have to wait, but with wonderful anticipation.
Jennifer, do you sell your cards? If so, where do we go for that?
♥Lee Ann
Oh am I right with you girlfriend. I was asking that same question of "how do they do that" right along with you. Guess we have to have times of waiting patiently in faith for what we yearn to have NOW!!!! Then when it comes we appreciate it so much more. But… I can't wait…or what I mean is…I'll have to wait, but with wonderful anticipation.
Jennifer, do you sell your cards? If so, where do we go for that?
♥Lee Ann
Well Jennifer, this just might be my favorite post… but I won't even go there since all your writings seem to really speak to me. Wonderful, glorious spring….. I just may go outside to clip a few sprigs of forsythia and bring them in to bloom!
xo
dulcy
Jennifer, your writing sends chills down my spine.
I love how you look deep into creation below the surface and see at a deeper level in a God-like way. Beautiful…
I look at the emerging flowers in awe but never dug any deeper than the roots. You go into the flower. Awesome… JB
Revisited this today, Jen, and soaked in *every* remarkably crafted word……
love love LOVE this post, Jen…..talk about a "soul vitamin"….
…sweet weekend over there for you, and Happy Valentines day early! : )
Liz