and i remembered a wonderful story that changed my life!!...
"once upon a time,
my mother had 4 daughters to recognize
at our 'new beginnings' night!
angie
jana
emily
and
whitney.
each mother was asked to bring a fake flower
that represented her daughter
(or daughters)
in some way.
then a bouquet would be made
of all our 'young women' flowers
to be displayed for the whole year
and remind us how special we all are!
...it was quite a clever idea!
the night came!
we began the unveiling of flowers!
first angie:
a white rose
"because angie is our angel-daughter! she is pure, loving, and a peacemaker. she is beautiful inside and out!"
then jana:
a fire-and-ice rose
"because jana has so much passion for life and so many different things about her that make her amazing and talented! and roses are her favorite flower."
jump to whitney:
a cluster of forget-me-nots
"because whitney is a bright and wonderful joy to have around! those who meet her are incapable of forgetting her! also, purple is her family color."
and finally, emily:
a red and yellow tulip
emily's reaction:
...a tulip?!
...i dont understand...i dont even like tulips!
...i dont understand...i dont even like tulips!
...and a RED tulip??
my favorite color is blue!! EVERYONE knows that!...wouldn't my MOTHER know that?!
mother's explanation:
"because tulips are the first flower to come back after the long winter. they bounce back - just like emily!"
i'm sad to say, little emily was pretty crushed.
...i BOUNCE BACK?...
...is that the only good thing she has to say about me?
there is NOTHING about that flower that is at all me!
...nothing even very poetic, like my sisters'!...
so our heroine went home, completely dissolusioned.
fast forward about 3 years,
so our heroine went home, completely dissolusioned.
fast forward about 3 years,
an older, wiser, but also
very overwhelmed heroine
arrives at her parent's house -
their relatively new house,
in which this was their first spring!
she trudged up the driveway,
she trudged up the driveway,
asking God if she could just NOT care anymore
since He didn't seem to!...
when she saw it.
a big, healthy red-n-yellow tulip was sticking out of the snow!
when she saw it.
a big, healthy red-n-yellow tulip was sticking out of the snow!
and suddenly, a young women's new beginning's night
and a bouquet of flowers came back to her!
...and out of nowhere, i knew He still cared.
...and out of nowhere, i knew He still cared.
He knew that whatever i went through
would be but a small moment
and that, more importantly,
i would bounce back.
nothing is capable of keeping me
dark and unhappy
or lost in dispair
because
i can DO HARD THINGS
and i'll GROW through them!!
tulips aren't scared to come out even though more snow might be on the way,
tulips aren't scared to come out even though more snow might be on the way,
they grow anyway because they are DONE being dormant!
they bounce back first :)
and suddenly, our heroine was done being overwhelmed!
they bounce back first :)
and suddenly, our heroine was done being overwhelmed!
and she lived happily ever after
with much trial
but even much MORE joy!!
because somehow, she always bounced back
and always will!
the end!
(and funny how this works - but now tulips are one of her favorite flowers!)
1 comment:
I love that about you. You help bring sunshine into other people's lives as well. when the rest of us are so sick of snow and more snow and think winter will NEVER end, (especially when you are from AZ) and then there are the tulips that show their bright happy faces, and you know you can go on because their is hope of spring. thats what you do for me at least. You help show me the hope of the gospel.
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