If of thy mortal good thou art bereft
And of thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
--Saadi

When I lived in New England and March 1 rolled around, I was still looking at two more solid months of cold weather before all the snow was gone, and three more solid months of school with very few breaks. Scott would buy me hyacinths. Oh, the color! Oh, the smell! I placed them on my kitchen table, and whenever I sat to do one more math lesson, or stood to fold one more load of laundry, I would bend over and take a huge whiff of spring. The smell was promise. It was hope. It was love. It was all those and more... it whispered of the miracle of God's creative abilities and His never-failing grace.

Yesterday, even though I'm no longer schooling and I live now in MD, where daffodils will be up before March is spent, Scott bought me hyacinths for our date night. Oh, the color! Oh, the smell! They take me back. They remind me of all those years where God gave me grace to persevere through another school year to "finish up strong," as my dad always said. And, yes, they are giving me the renewed hope, faith, and love to soldier on with this spring's tasks and challenges.

Do you need a boost? Take Saadi's advice! I guarantee it'll help.

Labels: encouragement