As I looked out the window this morning at the ground dusted with snow, I spotted a daffodil with flowers drooping a bit from the weight of the snow resting on their blooms. As I kept looking at the outdoor scene, I came back to the daffodils in the snow.
I thought a little deeper about the daffodils and the crocuses that always brave the constantly changing weather of spring. In thinking about the special features these plants have in order to be able to withstand the varying spring weather, I realized this was a great picture of the differences we experience with people around us. Every person and every personality around us is different; yet each person and personality has purpose in our life.
Now, if crocuses and daffodils waited to bloom in May with a lot of other plants, they wouldn’t stand out as much. They probably wouldn’t mean as much to us. These early spring blooming flowers bring a promise of what’s to come. They are a benchmark or indicator to us that the soil temperature is changing and the conditions are becoming more favorable for re-growth, new growth, a fresh start.
As I continued to drift through these thoughts, I realized just how much this aspect of nature is a picture of people. If all people were the same, it would be boring. If we all “bloomed” at the same time, our successes wouldn’t be as worth celebrating. If we were all fashioned to blend in by simply doing the same thing at the same time as everyone around us, our uniqueness wouldn’t mean as much. Think about it…what if both parents responded to everything the same? What if all the athletes on a team had the same strength? What if our siblings were just like us? Or our friends…identical in all ways?
Yet, God knew the value of uniqueness…much more than even we do. God knew that people and relationships would mean more if they were purposeful and intentional…both in their timing and in their characteristics. And He gives us a reminder of that in the world around us. He even shows us that in the early blooming plants that withstand the brutal changes of spring and still shine with hope and purpose in an otherwise dreary landscape.
What if we looked at the unique purposes of the people that surround us or our circumstances in the same light? What if we realized it might be our time to bloom in someone else’s otherwise dreary life? What if we recognized and valued the people around us that bring hope in otherwise seemingly hopeless or lifeless situations?
I think God knew what He was doing when He created crocuses and daffodils. And, today, I am grateful for His reminder to me to value the people around me for the differences He’s created in each of us.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us in Christ Jesus
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
