Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

Well, we’ve hardly had a winter this year….. HURRAY!! I’m not a fan of winter. I don’t like shivering. I do like winter clothes, though, but I would sacrifice my scarves, cute jackets, and boots for warm, sunny days any time. The best thing about winter is how it makes me never take for granted the long hot days of summer. As mild as this winter has been, I still look forward to signs of spring. In fact, because of the mildness of the weather this year, I’m already seeing it happen in my yard.

Last fall my mom offered me some iris and daylily bulbs my dad dug up from their yard. I grabbed them up and brought them home. I like iris and day lilies. I especially like free iris and daylilies. Our back yard is really beautiful. We have several large boulder type rocks that sit on our side sloping yard. I planted my bulbs in among those boulders. I figured they’d be safe from my son’s lawn mowing, and they’d be a nice contrast to the big rocks.

Like the rocks in my yard, the squirrels grow really big. Believe me, it’s like an episode of “Land of the Lost” back there. The squirrels have no real enemies save for the few feral cats running around, but I think even the cats are a bit wary of squirrels the size of themselves. As I watched the squirrels nosing around and gathering nuts in my yard, I began to worry about my bulbs. Would they dig those up and eat them? Would enough of the bulbs survive to make my yard pretty in the spring? Only time would tell.

Well, about two weeks ago, God did what He does every year and flipped the spring switch. The day I saw my iris and daylilies pushing up through the ground made me smile. Dozens of them now about six inches tall reaching for the warmth of the sun to nourish them.

I don’t even know what color they will be. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just glad they survived to come up out of the ground to make my yard pretty. They were planted in rich, dark soil with good drainage. They are in a rare area of my yard that gets full sun. Perfect conditions for greatness.

Could be you are destined for greatness, too. Are you coming out of a winter in your life? Are you ready for spring? If you are a child of God, the conditions are right. He wants you to push through and reach out to Him. He has carefully picked out your spot. He has surrounded you with all that you need to thrive, and He has mindfully watched over you. You may not even be sure what your blooms will look like, but He knows, and He can’t wait to see you shine.