On the First Day of Spring...

I connected the dots that my daughter’s “wild onions I dug up for dog food” were my beloved tulip bulbs - the sunset colored tulips that have lived at this home longer than I have, the ones I breathlessly await the arrival of every spring - as I was walking out the door to run errands. Quickly, I gathered the bulbs and pressed them back into the dirt, covering them as gently as I could. I paused with my eyes closed in disappointment. It felt like a funeral, but I prayed for a miracle. My daughter put her hand on my shoulder and said, “I forgive you, Mom. Do you forgive me? I still love you.” I took several deep breaths, and responded that I forgave her but I was still very sad and angry that she had not followed my instructions to stay out of the flower bed.

A bit later, my daughter's voice piped up from the backseat, “Mom, are you happy I apologized? Aren't you glad Jesus puts love in our hearts?”

It was no coincidence that just this morning I had been preparing for our parenting small group. I read 1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” My eyes had gotten stuck on the words “covers over” and I had reread the phrase repeatedly, as I imagined the way a blanket tenderly covers over us bringing concealment and comfort.

“I am very thankful that Jesus puts love in my heart even when I am sad or angry,” I responded.

I had a whole day left to live with my girl today, was I going to spend it bitter over childish disobedience and mistakes?

We went to the market where she greeted all our normal people with spunk and a smile, and the girls and I got a treat of soft pretzels, savoring our face to face time together like we do almost every Thursday. We went to my midwife appointment and listened to the heartbeat of the baby and showed the midwife 3D pictures of the baby's sweet face. We came home and played in the sun, and sat on the porch working on letter recognition activities. Even now as I write this, she is snuggled up into my side napping, my body and presence still a safe place for her to find comfort and rest.

I sat at the kitchen table when we got home from errands and smelled the tulips on my table - hot pink tulips with a sweet smell that the same daughter had picked out from Target to cheer me up as I battled the throes of a stomach bug this past weekend and week. Tulips that can be planted when they are past their glory on my table, but in the moment bringing a smile of gratitude when my eyes admire their silky petals.

I hope my sunset tulip bulbs are hardy enough to come back, but on this first day of Spring, I'm reminded that love surely does cover over a multitude of things. Even in my sadness over tulip bulbs, the Heavenly Father has been gracious to cover over the wound with a reminder of His love for me AND new tulip bulbs I can plant.