Like An Amaryllis - Take 1
I bought an amaryllis for the first time this winter after hearing Christy Nockels sing the song she wrote simply titled “Amaryllis.” I immediately resonated with the message of the song, and have listened to it repeatedly since then. If you haven’t already done so, please click on the link above and be blessed as well…
Now I am not known for having a green thumb, and don’t tend to do well with inside plants. But there was something I knew God wanted to display for me in this, so I decided to give it a shot. I planted the large bulb in the soil and watered it as directed. The instructions said it would bloom in 7-10 weeks. Nothing much happened the first week or so. We were gone for ten days after Christmas, and when we returned, there was something small coming up from the soil. As I did some research on this, I was reminded of many science lessons (it’s been a long time!) and relearned that the bulb stores the nutrients and protects the plant for new growth. The time spent in the darkness of the soil is necessary to produce the growth that is still to come. Day after day, I witnessed small but noticeable growth. The stalk grew taller and taller and a couple leaves also shot up out of the bulb. Because of its height, the stalk began to lean over a few times and I had to give it some support to straighten up and stand tall. Earlier this week, the buds started to form at the top.
Because of a week of snow, wind and near historic cold temperatures here in Northwest Indiana, I’ve been home all week. And I’ve been keeping careful watch throughout each day as the buds of the amaryllis began to bloom. The flowers started opening, one at a time, each growing wider and wider at its own pace. And right in the center of its trumpet- shaped petals are the pistil and the stamen, the organs that make it possible to reproduce these gorgeous flowers with their colorful designs radiating and proclaiming their God-given beauty. And what I love so much is that today, on a day when it’s colder here than it is in Antarctica, where everything is frozen, towns are closed up, and we are all aching for spring, today I see the brilliance of summer right in the middle of winter. Today is the day my amaryllis is shining in full, glorious bloom.
I can’t even explain how much joy and encouragement God has brought to me through the amaryllis. I have been in a season of winter. In many ways, this has been a season of cold and dark and I’m waiting… you too? In the waiting though I am learning that often times the dark is necessary to produce the growth that is still to come. And I know that some plants need shade to grow best (Heather Holleman). But the day is coming when you and I will come forth from the dark and grow, taking small steps at first. As we grow, each at our own pace, we will need the strength and support of those around us to keep us moving in the right direction. And when the time is right, we will bloom. The flowers and fruit of our lives will open and we will shine for the glory of our Creator, radiating and proclaiming our God-given beauty in ways we never have before. But it is God who brings about the growth in me, in you – in His time, in His way. And then as the center of our lives, He multiplies and reproduces for His glory alone. It may be out of the coldest, darkest season of our lives that He allows us to shine in the full, glorious bloom of all He’s created and called each one of us to be.
And that’s where Part Two comes in… there’s another verse to the song, another season of growth I am certain is coming, so stay tuned… and in the meantime, watch our amazing God somehow surprise the night like the Christmas amaryllis.
