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.

IN PROGRESS

A few weeks after this photo was taken,
we enjoyed colorful tulips. By summer's end,
the sticks at upper left become a mass of 
yellow (see photo at bottom).

An old weathered tub planter helps us welcome two growing seasons. In March we see the first hints of tulips. Within a month, after they've bloomed their hearts out and curled up, the cut-back twigs of marigolds stir and bring on a glowing yellow crown by August. What both have in common is many hours of sun from a south and west exposure.

And isn't that like our spiritual walks? The more we walk with God, absorbing the Son-reflected truths of scripture, the stronger the spiritual bloom. I thought of that principle in reading a devotional book by David Roper, The Strength of a Man (Discovery House, 1989). (It was a gift to my husband, but I read it, too.) As is my habit, I dog-eared pages that said “something more” to me. One was this, quoting an ancient spiritual thinker, Spain's St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), probably best known for his writings about the “dark night of the soul.” Roper drew these observations from the ancient writer:

St. John of the Cross says that walking with God produces three distinguishing characteristics in men—tranquility, gentleness, and strength. When He's by our side all our actions can be peaceful, gentle, and strong. Which suggests an immense depth of relationship that comes from time spent with our Lord, who 'works always in tranquility.' Anxiety, intensity, intolerance, instability, pessimism, and every kind of hurry and worry—even on the highest levels, are signs of the man who walks alone, the self-made and self-acting soul. God's men are seldom of that order. They share the quiet and noble qualities of the One with whom they walk. (p. 112)

The pandemic has forced people to more “alone” time, which has also translated to more media exposure (television, internet) as well as more reading time. Each of us has faced choices in how to use that time in feeding our minds and spirits. The character of those who entertain us on the media are not likely to reflect the “quiet and noble qualities of the One with whom they walk.” Sadly, for many, they become role models that pull us away from the character of God.

The reflective, spiritual walk is not achieved in spurts of guilt and “getting back to God.” It's the long, patient growing process that the Bible gives: The Word (scriptures), prayer, meditation and service. Or, to go back to my plants-in-tub illustration, it's daily seeking the life-giving rays of the Son of Righteousness in this slow process called “spiritual growth.” When we turn things over to Him, oh the possibilities!

Perennial cheer

In northern climates, where I live, sometimes you’re not too fussy about the first flowers of spring. These are my special ever-bloom, wood-and-paint tulips, which my husband brought home from a yard sale and “planted” by the sidewalk. They are poster children for this verse from Solomon’s lovers’ song: “See! The Winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come” (Song of Songs 2:11-12).

Admittedly, this was written by someone who knew what it was like to be madly in love. The sun shines brighter, the stars twinkle more, the flowers are brighter…. All I can say is that the little gal who inspired this ancient love-poem must have been something else!

As for my wooden tulips: yes, they’re fake. But in their own way they bring cheer to a time of year when we’ve had our fill of winter cold and gray. As I pulled dead leaves away from them the other day, I thought of someone else who provided desperately-needed cheer. His name was a tongue-twister, Onesiphorus [On-eh-SIF-o-rus], which meant “benefit-bringing” or “profit-bearing,” something he certainly lived up to.

His biography, about the size of a fingernail clipping, pops up in 2 Timothy 1:17-18, where Paul says, “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.” Second Timothy was the last letter Paul wrote from a Roman prison, and it was posted to Ephesus (today’s Turkey) where his protégé Timothy pastored the church Onesiphorus’s family attended.

The virtue of compassion apparently ran strong in Onesiphorus’s character. Coming to Rome—whether for business or just to help Paul, we’re not told--he risked imprisonment himself in seeking out a well-known prisoner. The Bible is silent on what he did to “refresh” Paul. He likely encouraged Paul with good reports from the church and by bringing food, clothing and medicine. The last phrase, “He searched hard for me until he found me,” reveals his persistence. Rome was full of dirty holes to stash its “undesirables,” and the only way to research Paul’s whereabouts was by foot, prison to prison.

Even today, Onesiphorus provides us with a role model of caring for those in physical and emotional prisons. Sometimes, they’re appreciative (as Paul certainly was of Onesiphorus). Sometimes our tenure of helping individuals may seem like a winter that never ends. But God sees it all in His greater plan.

So, ready for spring? Hurting yourself? Seek out someone hurting more and be a bright tulip in their lives, a cheer in someone’s winter…an Onesiphorus.