Spring has finally
decided to settle itself into the far reaches of Northwest Ohio. It
is a much more patient wait here than it was growing up outside of
St. Louis. But just like anything that requires patience, the wait is
worth it! After the long months of winter, colors begin to protrude
out of every nook and cranny, from garden beds to sidewalk cracks,
vibrant greens with splashes of the happiest yellows and oranges and
purples and reds.
Tulips are my
favorite. They always have been. They seems so dignified, but also
have a certain weakness about them. They bloom bright and fast, but
only last so long. You turn around once and the petals lie on your
dining room table, leaving you wondering what in the world happened.
There's a mystery to the tulip. She doesn't give up her secrets.
I always thought
that tulips were at their best, at their “peak” when they were in
their tallest state, petals sharply at attention. This is the state
right after the bud. The tulip has given up it's tight grip and
opened to stand straight and tall. This is the tulip we see in
childhood pictures and books. This is the shape of the tulip you can
draw with ease for pictionary, a semi-circle on a stem with two
peaks. Voila!
Then, I substitute
taught as an aide for the preschool class. Nothing changes your life
perspective like 20 three and four year olds. Monday, we went on a
walk to look for spring things.
“Oh Mrs. Goehmann,
look at this! I found a beautiful rock!”
“Oh Mrs. Goehmann,
look at this leaf!”
“Oh Mrs. Goehmann,
did you see my new tennis shoes?!”
Joy abounded in ever
sight and sound and touch. The first class took their walk at
10am-ish. The tulips were a favorite find for everyone, colorful,
stately, just as I expected them. The second class took their walk
around 1pm. It really was a beautiful day. There was oodles of
sunshine, the temperature was perfect. The teacher led the class
right by our friends, the tulips, and I was shocked to see this:
Sheer and utter
gorgeousness.
And then I realized
– this is how a tulip is supposed to look. This is the
moment in time it was made for. Bright and fresh, yes, but more than
that...wide open.
Wide open to the sun and the life giving rain water, and
the day itself.
Wide
open to opportunity and the vibrancy of life and whatever was coming
next. Rather it be eyes that look upon it with fascination or
preschool fingers that pluck it up without thinking of the
consequences.
There
is more to this blog than tulips, I think you are probably able to
see.
Friends,
we were meant to be wide open.
In
2 Corinthians 6:11, Paul shares some wisdom:
We
have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our
heart is wide open.
Now, look at Mark 1:9-10:
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And
when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the
heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a
dove.
Jesus, who He is and in His work, tears open the heavens
for us. He gives us a life that can be open to risk and relationship
and meaning because He is in it.
When Jesus heals in
Scripture, the language is openness...
the eyes of the
blind are opened
the tongues of the
mute are opened
the ears of the
deaf are opened
the wombs of the
barren are opened
the tombs of the
dead are opened
We can live as
closed people, and God will not love us any less, tight as a bud,
fending off risk and harm. We can live as partially opened people,
and God's grace will be the same for us. Open to stateliness, as
centuries, guarding our tender centers, sharing beauty, but never
quite letting all of ourselves known.
Or we can also live
as open people. We can bloom and blossom and let the sun all the way
in.
We
can bloom and blossom and let the Son all the way in.
We can open our
hearts wide to His people. We can forgive and love unabashedly. What
abundance there is in that!
I marched my
children out to the tulip after school. I wanted them to learn a life
lesson that I had embraced far to late.
“Children- this is
how the tulip is supposed to look. It can close itself up overnight
from the cold and the darkness, but in the bright and glorious
afternoon, do you see it? Do you see how it's heart is meant to be
open wide?”
Big smiles all
around. Nothing is quite as beautiful as a flower fully bloomed with
the sunlight kissing each and every petal. Life is beautiful.
Labels: abundant life, fear, growth, vulnerability
