Focus on the Flowers, Not the Frost

Emily Dickinson described March as “the month of expectation, the things we do not know.” She also said, “A light exists in spring not present on the year at any other period—when March is scarcely here.”

Even though it is not yet the Ides of March, my home in Tennessee has experienced both seventy-degree days and below freezing temperatures this month. We’ve had sun; we’ve had snow.

The highs and lows of life, like the highs and lows of the weather, are all around us.

In his book The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis refers to these ups and downs as “the law of undulation.” These “troughs and peaks” occur naturally for everyone. Although today may be Friday, we can be reassured that Sunday is on the horizon!

William Wordsworth appeared to be having a melancholy day when he penned his poem “Daffodils.” He undulated from loneliness at the beginning to a heart filled with pleasure at the end—all because of a few flowers.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud

That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd

A hosting of dancing Daffodils… 

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude,

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the Daffodils.

These daffodils are our first sign of spring. Tennyson and the British refer to them as Lent Lilies, often called this because of their appearance just before Easter. Other areas of the United States use the terms buttercups, Narcissus, and jonquils. (Remember Amanda Wingfield’s obsession with jonquils in The Glass Menagerie?)

These flowers bring us joy after a long cold winter. In the words of Solomon, “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” (Song of Songs 2:11-13)

March is a month filled with special occasions. We can choose to celebrate Pi Day (March 14), or we can dread being pinched for not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). We can fret over Severe Weather Preparedness Month, or we can celebrate a child on Absolutely Incredible Kid Day (March 16).

Yes, we lost an hour of sleep last weekend, but now we can enjoy more daylight in the evening.

When I started writing this morning, a dusting of snow covered the tree branches in my yard. Now, rays of sunshine pouring through my sunroom have warmed my pages and my pen.

March can be a month of madness (ahem) or a month of marvels. You choose.

Deuteronomy 30:19: “…  I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”