I know it doesn’t look like much.  Yet.  But it will soon enough!  These are the buds of my hostas and tulips.  Spring and budding promise. I wait for them, in such anticipation, every early spring.  New England weather is so crazy, and everyone knows how much I despise the COLD.  So when I see these buds, it’s proof to me that maybe, perhaps, spring may truly be here. Even if it’s not quite acting like it yet.

More than the hope they give, I know all that they will flourish to be.  I’ve seen it!  These little pathetic buds are full of promise.  I’ve soaked up the joy they give me at every glance, year after year. I have faith, that it will happen once again.

The hostas actually hold a little family history for us.  My mother-in-law gave us this cluster of hosta, probably over 11 years ago.  She had transplanted some, and didn’t have anywhere to put this one she had left. She had a beautifully gardened yard. The kind you see in Better Home and Gardens.  Just lovely. I loved visiting and seeing it.  But gardening, plants, flowers,…it all just wasn’t my thing.  Seemed like a lot of work to me! So I wasn’t all THAT excited about taking the orphaned hosta.  : ) But my husband was kind of excited.  He broke it up into 5 plants, and planted them around the big pine tree we had on the side of the driveway there.  They never did so well there, I would imagine because of the excessive shade they were in, and the acidity of the pine needles falling.

Eventually we cut that pine tree down, and they did better with more sun. But they looked pretty silly around a stump. And that was getting pulled out.  So since the hostas had grown on me some (no pun intended : ), we decided to move them over the short wall, overlooking our yard.  They did well there, and as they grew a little more each year, so had I.  I began to have a more appreciation for what I call “those domestic kind of things”.  I rather enjoyed looking at my hostas popping up through the ground every year, and flourishing into full green hardy plants.  They are just beautiful every year now.  One might even see me out there raking up around them, keeping their beds clean.

Don’t get me wrong.   My yard still does not look like my in-law’s did. (They have since moved.)  In fact, my yard is a sore sight at the moment.  Where we live, the earth is extremely sandy. We had some major home construction about 2 years ago, for an addition to help accomodate our suddenly-bigger family, and my little green yard has not been the same since.  I will never forget seeing that excavator climb up the hill of my Junipers from the driveway, and gracefully crawl across my yard, completely unearthing everything in it’s path.  I think my mouth just hung open. That was just the beginning, and well, the yard has been secondary to finishing the inside of our home ourselves. But the hostas and tulips are a beautiful distraction from the mess of the rest.

Speaking of, the destruction of construction brings me back to the story of my tulips. I had planted some tulip bulbs over by the tree, around the same time of my half-hearted domestic efforts, many years ago.  I always loved tulips, enough that the thought of having some in my yard gave me enough ambition to actually plant some.  To my surprise, they eventually came up! But in the process of our construction, and the need to relocate lots of sandy grassed-earth, formerly know as our yard, the sandpiles were dumped on the location of my tulip bulbs!  Looking at the pile that was several feet high, I thought “Well, that’s the end of my tulips!  They are buried for good now!”

I was so very wrong.  Amazingly, to me anyway, those tulips made their way all the way up from the ground, through several feet of sand, and broke free into the air, to grow and flourish once again.  Their leaves are a little more tattered, but I can appreciate what they have gone through; their long and difficult journey, to get where they wanted to be.  They truly make me reflect on us, as a family.  We have been through a lot in our family life. Just difficult circumstances and the kind of struggles we wondered if we would ever get through.  But with what faith in God we had, and, well I won’t say patience, but perseverance, we always did make it through.  Just like many people and families in this world, who got through the difficult events that are all part of God’s greater plan, we prevailed. We’ve come out stronger, feeling all the more blessed, and have a bit more clearer perspective on life, than before. Like the sprouts of the tulip bulbs buried many, many yards below the surface, we looked UP.  We reached for the Light, looked to God for some strength and determination.  We believed, and persevered.  And eventually, we reveled in the reward that was ours.  Feeling, and living, and reveling in the glory of God.

So there is beauty in those tattered and nubby buds.  Spring and budding promise. As the photos below from last year testify, just LOOK what we have to look forward to…..

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12; 1-2