March 2007

Daffodils in Africa

I look out over my laptop and see the daffodils playing with the breeze outside on the deck. Ever since the first morning I saw them in bloom, they have delighted me beyond expression. I planted them last year then forgot about the flowers over the cold winter months as they laid beneath the cold frozen ground. But one morning, I saw them, and my heart sang. They are so fun to watch, to enjoy. In fact, I took such joy in them, I replanted them into a pot and brought them with me when I moved into an apartment a few weeks ago. What strikes me most is that without doing a thing, they came back. Without me having to think about it or see a need for beauty, God gave me beauty, he surrounded me with loveliness. How many other gifts in my life has God given me without me ever having to ask for them?

A friend of mine who just got back from six months in Africa was recently telling me about the great joy she experienced around Christmas time when she received two packages from home on the same day, one from her parents, and another from a bunch of us in Salem who call her friend. We call her many other lovely things as well, but friend is the main one. In the package, we had each put in a few things to send to her. There were cards, treats, and small gifts. One of my contributions was a copy of the Advent devotional, Encountering the Holy, I had just published. Two days before the package was sent, I was printing two copies of the devotional for friends. When I was telling the clerk how many to print, I felt God nudge me with the number three. I didn't have a request for the third and Advent was almost over, but I printed an extra anyway. That night, I went to a concert and heard about the package another friend of hers was getting ready to send the next day. I knew then why God had me print a third. It's a funny thing when God tells us to do something we don't understand. Only much later did I hear how meaningful it was for her. Such a small thing. Like the daffodils, there was very little work to include the booklet with the candy and letter but what a difference it made!

Like God giving us the daffodils, tulips, and flowering trees each spring, we can give daffodils to each other. It is amazing what a difference we can make by the slightest touch of kindness, by one thoughtful word. What delight could we bring to those we love, or even barely know, if we take a little time and open up our hearts! We are like stones thrown into a pond. We may drop the stone into the pool, but the ripples go out from there. Where one dollar was invested, God makes hundreds, where one seed is sown, God harvests thousands. What seeds are you sowing today? Will they be the daffodils next spring? Will they be the bouquet, the light shining in someone else's eyes? God is filling your bag with seed. Spread it. Spread it all over throughout all the countries, all the oceans, all the plains and mountains, send them to Africa.

News

A Christian bookstore in Gig Harbor, WA, called "Good News Christian Books and Music,"

is now carrying the second book, "In His Eyes" for $14.95. The address is:

Good News Christian Books and Music

5500 Olympic Dr
Gig Harbor WA 98335-1487

(253) 858-9477

Last Updated: 12/30/2011