Category Archives: Inspiration

Why Easter Lilies Symbolize New Beginnings

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Hello again my beloveds! It’s been a minute, but here we are. I don’t know where the time is going! I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around blogging lately. There has been plenty of opportunity, but very little motivation. Maybe it’s the weather. It’s raining — again. This spring has been very, very wet. The ground is wet, the firewood is wet, my bunnies are damp, and no one is happy. Although a few things have been slowly moving forward… we have fence posts in for the new baby goats! And spring day old chicks come tomorrow! So, despite not being able to do much around because everything is soaking… time continues to move on. I suppose it is one thing we simply cannot stop: Time. Even in the rain.

I wanna go back in time for a minute. A few weeks ago, we celebrated one of, if not the most significant events in history. Easter. It was an unusual Easter weekend for us… kinda busy with a lot of travelling to see family (which are further away now), but nonetheless wonderful. Easter, of course, is when we commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus. A poignant celebration in Christian faith. We’re still getting used to our bigger church and a larger church family, so it wasn’t as “intimate” as I’m used to, but worthy of mentioning. Chocolate treats and fancy meals with family notwithstanding.

Easter and Lilies

Yet, we must circle back to our little plant theme we’re currently following, and chat about Easter lilies. Our sanctuary was decorated with them, and we used to have many in the city. So, how did the lily get associated with Easter? I didn’t know. So, like all good bloggers, I googled it. Google tells me the trumpet shaped, white flower has been traditionally associated with purity, rebirth and new beginnings. The shape reminds us of a trumpet… announcing the resurrection of Christ and His return. Obviously, new beginnings are what spring is all about… so it makes sense. A pure white flower. Okay, I get it.

Honestly though, I am not a fan of Easter lilies. I do not like their very pungent fragrance, they are extremely toxic to pets, and are messy…dropping pollen everywhere. Plus, they remind me of death. I don’t know why, but they seem to be in every funeral bouquet. I suppose it has something to do with that hope reborn association. Sorry to those of you who love ’em — just not for me. Any lily, in fact. Crazy tiger lilies in my garden… you can’t kill those invasive things! Please do not bring me any for mother’s day!

I suppose I shouldn’t be so harsh to a flower that the Bible mentions as beautiful (Luke 12) and is a symbol for purity. Solomon, in all his finest, never looked as good as the humble, white flower, they say. I suppose it is pretty enough. More partial to the rose, myself. I knew a lady who loved the lilies and all the mismatching and hybrids and colour varieties. She ordered bulbs on a regular basis for her garden. I have a few daylilies that are okay hanging out in mine, but the lily is not one I’d pick to plant.

However, I did find one tidbit of info interesting. The life cycle of an Easter lily begins with the bulb growing underground for several years before sprouting its long stalk and white flower. A perfect example of death and resurrection… buried under ground and rebirth. That is worth celebrating. That can bring meaning to spring. Especially right now for us, after a brutally long winter and a very rainy spring. I am ready for some new life again. I am ready for a new awakening in the soil and the garden sprouting. I’m excited for the new babies coming and the joy new life brings. That, my friends, is even worth a stinky flower. I hope you feel a rebirth in your souls this week, my beloveds! Until we “meet” again.

The Significance of Fig Trees and a little Spiritual Growth

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Oh, Friends! Dear, dear friends. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! That’s Shakespeare isn’t it? Wow, high school memory flooding back… where did that come from? Anyway, the point is, friends, we are back after a very long two week or so break. And I have no excuse for it. Well, I have an explanation, but it’s not a real excuse. Truth is, the last two weeks have been really crazy and weird at our house, and there simply wasn’t the time, motivation, opportunity, or the well-with-all to sit down for the few hours it takes to write. And I really don’t know where the time went. Work hours were odd, the family was here and there, the nights were spent doing other things… and well, here we are two weeks later! Yet, here we are. And so, I greet you again, as friends who give me a little writing grace now and then.

So. We had started our little “theme” with some plants and I’m back with another one. For some reason, the humble fig tree has been on my mind. I don’t think I have ever seen a fig tree in real life. Certainly not with figs growing on it. Wikipedia tells me it’s tropical, so likely why I’ve never seen one here in Canada. The snow here has FINALLY begun to melt and now we are in the throws of spring thaw… and flooding. Fig trees likely wouldn’t do very well in our yard… I hear they like dry soils. Therefore, I shall buy my dried figs at the supermarket. Dried because I don’t think I’ve ever had a fresh fig either.

Do you like figs? Apparently they are good for you: Raw figs are 79% water, 19% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat. What’s the difference between a raw fig and a dried fig? Does raw mean fresh? What’s in a in a “fig newton” (gee, another blast from the past… do they still make fig newtons?). Or in shampoo? I think there’s figs in soap? Perhaps this is why fig trees were on my mind. They are interesting creatures. Slightly exotic, slightly humble, all ancient toga party. On the snack table of Queen Esther. Or at least in her soap.

Specifically though, I was thinking about when Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11. It happened during Holy Week near Jerusalem… Jesus was hungry, notices a seemingly lush fig tree, discovers no actual figs, only leaves, and then curses it to never bear fruit again. Seems harsh, but here’s the lesson: Symbolically, we could say that Jesus was saying “You’ve put all kinds of energy into productivity, but you aren’t producing real fruit; the church is active… but useless.” Ouch. Two weeks of time, not one post. People are spiritually hungry and we do lots of community events, but are we feeding them what they need? Has the church done enough, have I, as a child of God, done enough? Have you? Remember, this is mitton musings.… I just think about things. I don’t judge, nor do I have all the answers. I simply present “food for thought”.

Yes, apparently they still make Fig Newton Cookies…now with other fruit flavours.

Which also had me thinking about the whole idea of cursing some poor tree. Cursing in general. The spiritual battle is real. I don’t want to say these last few weeks have been “cursed”, but certainly they have been oppressive. Another interesting fig tree fact? Fig tree sap/leaves contain a substance called Furocoumarins (5-methoxypsoralen), an enzyme that when exposed to UV rays, can cause skin irritation. Can we say that when spiritual opposition comes into the light… we get irritated? I dunno, that may be a stretch. Let’s just go back to saying Jesus wants us to bear fruit, not just be productive.

So. There ya have it. Fig tree. A Muse. I’ve posted. Short, but to the point I think. And I hope it gave you real food for thought, and not just another post to read. I’ll be back. Hopefully sooner this time. Enjoy your Holy week. Perhaps have some figs. Blessings.

Navigating Life’s Pathways: Lessons from a Spider

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Greetings, friends! It’s been a hot moment, hasn’t it? We’re back though, with another thought of the day to enlighten you. I was finally taking a moment to relax in the bath, when a teenie little daddy long legged spider decided to meander its way along the side of my tub. Now, I don’t have any fear of spiders, especially one so small, but I didn’t want this little guy to fall into my bath, or worse, disappear from view, so I gently scooped him up and placed him along the edge of my dangling English ivy (which I am so proud of… it’s growing well on my bathroom window ledge…long and sprawling… I am hoping to weave it all through the mirror). Anyway, I placed the little guy along the edge of the vine, hoping he would follow the path into the heart of the plant and live happily eating the fruit flies or whatever little gnat things live in soils. He did not. He made a quick veer to the right, grasping at the smooth painted bathroom wall to start his ascent. Once he slipped and slid along the wall, he had to spot check a few pieces of web to swing over the window ledge. I didn’t watch him after that. I don’t know if he every made it to the plant, or the sunny window, or simply slid down the other side under the sink and whatever lurks under there.

Which pathway to choose?

And so… you guessed it… I mused about that little spider and wondered why on earth did he choose the more treacherous path when I clearly had shown him the easiest route? The quickest definition of a pathway is “a way that constitutes or serves as a path” — it says nothing of the difficulty of the pathway, nor the length of the route, nor the dangers along it. It is simply a “way” from point A to point B. Plenty of us have traveled along many a pathway — both easy and hard routes in our lifetimes. They are worth a thought and a look back to see how far we have come.

Most of you know, it has been a hard, long, cold, snowy winter here at Itsnotta Farm. The snow is still deep on the ground, the days are still bitterly cold, and my farm chores are tough. Gates are frozen open, two feet deep in snow. Entry ways to the barn are icy because when it did warm up for a few brief days, the snow melted. The barn is a skating rink. I need to clean out my stall bound bunnies, but everything is frozen to the ground. One day, the wind created huge drifts enroute to the coop, I was waste deep and shoveling my way along. I bump my head on the top of the chicken run because the snow has lifted me up a foot or so taller. Goat fencing can’t be started because the ground is solid and still buried. Needless to say, I think we are quite sick of it all! Spring could not come sooner.

Photo by Anurag Jamwal on Pexels.com

Metaphorically speaking, we’ve been on a few pathways since moving out here. Adjusting to the weather was just one. We’ve had new schools, church, made new friends in a new community. I’ve been given several job opportunities and navigated that trajectory for awhile. Life is a seemingly endless pathway. And then you die. My faith would tell me that that isn’t the final checkpoint, though. The Bible tells us the pathway to Heaven is narrow and tough going. It’s a hard one to choose. Like my little spider, the challenges are real and sluggish. Choices we make now, will determine our fate. Is it worth the slow, arduous route to arrive in Heaven and eternal life? You bet it is!

I don’t know where you are, friend, on your pathway through life. I don’t know who reads my little public posts, or who shares them and why. I do know, God is faithful. He’s proven it time and time again. People around us try and set us on the path that is easy… one with few obstacles, an easy climb through the ivy. Sometimes, the sacrifice is worth the harder route. Sometimes, we need to plant ourselves and haul up over the ledge. It’ll be a bit more difficult for sure. Oh, we’ll have a few blessings along the way… someone will surely scoop us up every now and then and keep us from drowning; but it will all be worth it in the end. Trust me. Spring thaw is coming, and the pathways will soon be green again! And there will be plenty more spiders to watch.