Blog 2363 – 04.13.2022

Tulips, Among The Loveliest Flowers

As a young man, I read a poem by Helen Steiner Rice that says, “God hath not promised skies always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through. But, God hath promised strength for the day rest for the laborer, and light for the way.” I also recall a phrase from something else I read about the same time, “Your God is too small.”

I grew up in the Bible Belt where the Christian tradition is a strong influence. The particular brand of Christianity I was taught was against drinking, smoking, dancing, going to the movies and really anything that was fun or in anyway tempting was considered sin. I was raised to live in fear of disappointing God. The God I was taught to believe in was an angry God, a very small minded God, invented by small minded men who wished to control others.

For twenty years in the middle of my life I considered myself an atheist. I recognizes no god. But, then a quantum physicist shared with me the idea that I needed to look at a higher power in a new way – to think of God as my highest best self. That one idea revolutionist my life and opened me up to realize that “God is all in all” and that I, everyone, and indeed everything is a part of the one true God. That God is the biggest God of all for He/She/We is that Big Love that bigger circle that takes everyone and everything in.

Your small god may have never promised flower strewn pathways all your life through, Helen, but mine has delivered on that promise for seventy-one plus years thus far and I trust there will be flowers at my send off celebration some years hence, and flowers all the days in between.

There are so many lovely flowers I am loath to say any one is my favorite. Tulips are especially lovely and I planted bulbs that I bought in Nebraska on my last away work assignment last year and planted them in my front yard in Houston, Texas. I so wanted them to bloom for my lovely and loving wife Linda, the loveliest flower in my life. Why, even her name Linda means lovely.

As we were walking in our front yard a couple of days ago, we spied the above little Tulip blooming just in time for Easter. Yesterday we saw an Iris blossom about to open. The God of the Universe just keeping that promise again and again. “My heart and my mind are open, my arms and my hands are open, my mouth, nose, ears, and eyes are open, to all the Universe has for me.”

How about you?

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JyZLIzxSW7u93l1y5i3i08QsogQY1psX/view?usp=drivesdk

The Rose