Tulips dancing in the wind

If you live in/near Peoria, you really need to go downtown and check out the tulips at the courthouse square - near Hamilton & Main. For those of you who can't make it, let me show you what I saw as I sat there for an hour this afternoon.

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A lazy Sunday afternoon.
Sitting in the courthouse square watching tulips dance in the wind.
Hundreds of tulips in a rainbow of colors.
A truly stunning sight.

I wish I had my camera with me but alas it's in my car and I'm too comfortable (and perhaps too lazy) to want to walk the four blocks to get it. This is a beautiful spot for reflection on this Lord's day.

The wind is stirring up the fragrance of spring - the scent of flowers is in the air. Although the background hums with the sounds of traffic flowing by this downtown square, the gentle breeze helps to tune it out. I hear a flag clanging against its pole. Birds are plentiful - their chirping fills the deserted square. If I sat here long enough, I almost imagine I could hear the river flowing just a block away.

The leaves rustle as their branches give way to the wind. The wind may be invisible but its effects are clearly seen. Fallen petals almost float along the stone walkways. A dried leaf, the last remnant of a fall and winter gone by, bounces its way across the grass. I watch as it descends into the street and is picked up in the whirl of a passing car. Who knows where it will finally come to rest? A city drain? The river? Or perhaps a child will wander by and, caught up in the beauty and innocence of the moment, will carry that leaf home and press it between the pages of a book - an attempt to forever capture the wonder of the moment.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch car after car pass by - few even glace at the beauty beside them. A beauty that is not often see in the midst of a city. A beauty that won't last as sadly tulip season is so short. In a hurry to get to the next thing, the beauty of this moment is lost to them. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Or in this case - watch the tulips dance in the wind.

These moments are few and far between, even for a thinker and writer like myself. Although I enjoy a quiet moment to be still and see God at work around me, I don't take the time nearly enough. Sad, but true. I suppose that's why, when I do take the time, I find my heart captured by the Creator. In awe of what He has done, what He has given us.

Beauty in the midst of concrete and brick.

Stillness in the midst of the chaos of life.

Peace when life seems anything but peaceful.

And so, I renew my resolve to make time for these moments. To be captured by the Creator. To bask in His presence, to know He planned this moment just for me. He loves me that much - He'll make tulips dance in the wind to bring His beloved joy and to bring glory to Himself. Oh that I would glorify my Jesus by taking pleasure in Him and in these moments!