Why "Crocuses in March"?

Back in 1999, my marriage hit a huge 'bump'. More like crisis. Todd & I had both done several damaging things to our relationship, and one of the biggest of all was allowing our focus to drift off of God. We allowed our work, house, finances and all the other trappings of this world to consume us, and in the process we turned on each other. It was an incredibly difficult time. It was initially a fairly slow progression, but once it started going down hill, it went full throttle. Between December of 1998 and March of 1999 we almost blew apart. By March, I seriously wondered if the marriage could be salvaged.

One day, as I was coming in our back sidewalk I was asking God if it was possible to save something that appeared to be so dead. As I headed for the porch steps I noticed something in the middle of the yard under the tree... What caught my eye was a little cluster of purple crocuses. This was unusual for 2 reasons; first, I hadn't planted crocuses, and, in the time that we had lived there up til then, none had ever grown there. The second reason I was surprised was that it was bitter cold and there was still snow on the ground - yet there were these little flowers, braving the elements, announcing to the world that indeed, spring WAS on its way. I felt God speak to my heart in that moment "No matter how frozen, cold - even dead- things seem on the surface, there is life beneath." It was my personal promise that just as God makes life spring forth from the winter ground, he could do the same for Todd & my hearts. It was a turning point. God continued to break through in our lives in ways too numerous to count. But since that time, crocuses have been MY flower, my own personal promise that no matter how things look, God is in the business of restoring life.

One year Todd found this sugar and creamer set and got it for me for Christmas. The combination of the picture (crocuses) and the words (To God Be the Glory, Great Things He Hath Done), and the fact that Todd got it for me has made it one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received. I cherish it. One time, not too long after I got it, the sugar bowl got broken. I nearly cried. My dear husband went out and bought another one to replace it; he knew the special meaning it had and what it would remind me of every time I looked at or used it.

I'm so thankful for the miracle God did in our lives and that He cares enough to give us signs of His promises - be it rainbows or crocuses.