Blooming

I went to a graveside funeral four days after a winter storm coated the entire mid-state of Tennessee with snow and ice. All along the drive to the cemetery, there were still small piles of unmelted snow, both where parking lots had been scraped and cleared, as well as in the shadows of trees and houses. This kind of weather is an unusual occurrence for our part of the country.

As I stood behind the graveside tent with the gathered congregation, listening to the resurrection being proclaimed by family, clergy, and soloist, I happened to look down at the grave marker I was standing near. There, against the cold gray granite, a single, tiny flower had bloomed. I looked all around me and these tiny flowers were everywhere.

I thought to myself, “Four days ago, this ground was under an inch of ice and, now, this flower is blooming. Resurrection is like that, conjuring life, by God’s grace, out of death’s icy grip.”

Carry on, not in despair and helplessness, but in the hope and promise of resurrection.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins