SUN-SEEKERS

I was SO READY for spring this year, and was cheered by two gift bouquets of tulips. I put them together in one vase and placed them on a west-facing lamp table, spreading out the blooms in a circle. Later that afternoon, I was surprised to find they'd done some re-arranging of their own, all turning toward the sunshine coming through this window tracking the afternoon sun. I knew plants still in the soil sought the sun, but cut ones? The sight of those “head-turners” reminded me of comforting phrases in Psalm 34, especially these:

I sought the LORD and He delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. (vv. 4-5)

The word “radiant” especially caught my attention. Going through a season of loss and grief doesn't exactly make every day or hour a sun-shiny one. But God is teaching me to look up in faith to His love and sufficiency. And maybe to look out in faith to point those around me to the source of true joy and hope.

To be radiant, even when my days aren't all that sunny with happy connections and happenings.

Years ago, I received a number of notes and E-mails that were, well, grumpy and unappreciative. Yes, dumping on me. I knew enough of the sender's background to realize they wanted their own way instead of submitting to the Lord's discipline and better plan. Dealing with their negatives was a good exercise for me in asking whether similar behaviors were true of me. Yes, as David wrote in this psalm, to “seek the Lord.” To “look to Him.” And—in so doing, gain His perspective on fears and unmet expectations.

That last phrase of verse 5, “never covered with shame,” holds so much quiet power. In looking to the Sun of Righteousness, the shadows fade in the brilliance of His perfect love. There's another aspect to this psalm. The credits indicate David wrote it after a scary time (told in 1 Samuel 21), when he was running for his life away from mad King Saul. He was trying to hide amid some enemies—bad choice—especially since he turned up in the home territory of Goliath, the enemy giant he'd killed!

Do I still have fears, things that upset and scare me? Of course, I'm human. But I have a choice, like those crazy and lovely tulips, to seek the Light. To let the inner beauty God crafted as “me” to shine forth in the brief time I have to bloom for Him.

Sadly, my tulips wilted and had to be tossed after a few days. But I enjoyed the colors and reminders of spring's re-emergence. I reflected on the love shown me by those who gave me the tulips. And I realized God, in His grace, allowed this reminder to seek Him—the One bigger than fears or disappointments, and whose radiant Love is available to me, 24/7.