Strange Times.

In early October I was lamenting that my lilac bush was already dropping leaves. Most of the other deciduous trees and bushes in our yard hadn’t even begun to turn and droop much less drop all of their leaves. I was afraid that perhaps I would lose this bush that I had nurtured from a wandering transplant.

This past week I was in the yard cutting some sedum, hydrangeas and grasses to make an autumnal bouquet. As I was passing the lilac bush I smelled a faint waft of a familiar floral scent and looked up to notice that there was a bloom on the barren branch of my lilac. Here it was, the middle of fall when most of my garden is cycling down and preparing for winter’s rest and my beloved lilac was having a swan song. Of course, we have had some unseasonably warm days and most probably this poor little bud got confused.

I like to think that it was a brief moment to remind me that even in the midst of times that are seemingly slowing down and declining, there is always the possibility of growth.

I don’t know about you, but there have been episodes lately when things seem so bleak. There is much in the world that supports that way of thinking: all the social ills, extreme weather and its effects, wars, famines, diseases, pandemics and that is just on the global scale. While many of us may not live in such day-to-day extremes, the images and information that we receive about it can weigh heavily on our minds. Sometimes if we dwell on our own situations-health, family’s health, finances, relationships, responsibilities- we can feel the weight of a bleak future. I know that I have felt that way at times. Times when life seems overwhelming and the foreseeable future seems to offer no hope.

That plucky little lilac bloom reminded me that there is a cycle of new beginnings in the future. In our neck of the woods, we are fortunate to experience four seasons- approximately three months dedicated to each of the seasons. I am grateful for that cycle in weather. For just when I think that I am done with one type of meteorology, a change comes along in the air and we will be experiencing cold crisp days or long languishing hot ones. With that change in the air becomes a difference in my attitude and expectations. I see new possibilities and opportunities with the changing seasons.

I like to think that my lilac was a blooming rebel and that “she” knew that lilacs bloom in the spring with all the others, but she decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm spell and do her thing and make it her time: to blossom and spread her spring joy of scent and sight. She showed the world, or especially me, that there is hope even in the count down to a respite winter- when the trees and bushes and plants are resting.

For there is always hope. Hope in the future. Hope in God’s provision. Hope that, though we cannot see what is round the corner or what the next cycle of life will bring, we can be assured that life goes on and that God is in control. The pattern of the seasons and of our lives ebbs and flows. Sometimes we are storing up energy in preparation for our “time” (aka purpose), sometimes we are resting after an episode of our “time” and sometimes we may be in the middle of our “time”- blooming like crazy.

What about you? Do you feel that your leaves have dropped? Too soon? What encouragement do you need to bloom? Where can you get that encouragement?

So while I know that lilacs don’t usually bloom in fall, I like the idea that they can: A lilac blooming way ahead of schedule can carry me through the dead of winter and give me hope for the beginning of another spring.