Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. -Martin Luther

I think we’ve finally made it. No more snow is looming, at least not until October. It is safe to transport your seed starts or overwintered plants out to the garden and patio. Every teacher I know is lamenting the “spring fever” that has overtaken their students. Allergy sufferers are itchy-eyed and sneezy.

In other words, it’s Spring.

Everywhere you look, new life is springing up, bringing vibrant hues to a landscape, that, a few short weeks ago, was only shades of brown. Every day seems to bring a new bloom or leaf, adding to the colorful display of nature.

I have always been fascinated by the bulb flowers. Daffodils, lilies, tulips, irises, crocuses, and more all need to be planted underground months before they grow, resting under the cold, dark soil all winter long until the sunshine draws them out.

They don’t all bloom at the same time, though. The crocuses are always first, offering their tiny purple blossoms up as a reminder that the snow will melt. Then come sunshiney daffodils, daring anyone to look at their cheerful flowers and doubt the return of warmth. Then tulips, lilies, and irises, each in their turn, a parade of color emerging from the dirt.

As a reminder of resurrection, it might at first glance seem sort of odd that these bulbs, all buried together in the fall, emerge at different times from their resting places. Why doesn’t all the new life come at once, in a brilliant rainbow?

Honestly, that’s how we experience resurrection in our everyday lives, isn’t it? While we might hope for the immense and flashy display of everything restored to life all at once, more often we experience one glimmer of new life at a time.

Your whole work-life balance will probably not be restored in one moment, but something can bloom when you give yourself permission to say no. Your broken relationship will probably not be made whole all in one conversation, but something blooms when you learn to listen deeply. Your entire discipleship journey will probably not grow leaps and bounds in a single day, but something blooms every time you put God and your neighbor before yourself.

It is also true that sometimes you will go through seasons where it seems that everyone around you is experiencing new life and you are still deep underground. When those seasons come, take heart. Dahlias bloom months after daffodils, and no one holds that against them. The promise of resurrection is true for the ones who are still buried, too.

Today, whether you find yourself blooming to new life or still waiting for resurrection, let the new life of springtime remind you that God promises you resurrection, and God will keep that promise.