Inspiration

Future Arrives In Red

By Connie Arnold

 We have a bush in our yard, and every year I get an urge to cut it down. I think it is a species of pyracantha or firethorn. It has long needle-sharp thorns which I can see serve no real purpose. There isn’t foliage for hungry worms or leaf-eating animals to feast upon—not even enough for a light snack.

This bush is also in the wrong place. When it gets too tall, its straggly switches block the view of the rest of the yard. Much of the year, I heartily dislike the bush and forget its redeeming quality.

For those of us who thrive with the early plants of spring and who continue to love life long into the summer, the late winter is truly a time for despair. Early, early spring brings icy winds, late snows, and the cold, driving rain. All hope just might be lost, except…

Yes, except that this nuisance of a firethorn bush begins producing touches of color. At first, there will only be a dozen or so brilliant red blossoms, but the vivid color of flame kindles a spark of hope for better times to come. So, even before the yellow forsythia, my fire thorn is a mass of red flowers.

I can’t help but think of Moses’ bush that was on fire yet not consumed. God was in Moses’ bush to get His message across to him. God is in my bush just to remind me of His love for me and His promise to man. The promise that God gave in the rainbow comes to me again in my firethorn. The King James Version of the Bible says: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, the day and night shall not cease,” (Genesis 8:22).

We moved away and left our bush, and I no longer see the firethorn which seemed to blossom out of season, shooting a volley of red buds into my winter malaise.

Now I have a bed of red tulips, standing at attention, proclaiming better things to come as winter loosens its grip.