I read the following story
circling the Internet. It really
touched my heart and was quickened
to me about my calling in hearing,
keeping and birthing His Words into
fruition.
============
The Daffodil
Principle
by: Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards
Several times my daughter had
telephoned to say, "Mother, you must
come see the daffodils before they
are over." I wanted to go, but it
was a two hour drive from Laguna to
Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next
Tuesday, " I promised, a little
reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and
rainy. Still, I had promised, and so
I drove there. When I finally walked
into Carolyn's house and hugged and
greeted my grandchildren. I said,
"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The
road is invisible in the clouds and
fog, and there is nothing in the
world except you and these children
that I want to see bad enough to
drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly," We
drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on
the road until it clears and then
I'm heading for home!" I assured
her.
"I was hoping you'd take me over
to the garage to pick up my car."
"How far will we have to drive?"
"Just a few blocks," Carolyn
said, "I'll drive. I'm used to
this."
After several minutes I had to
ask, "Where are we going? This isn't
the way to the garage!" "We're going
to my garage the long way," Carolyn
smiled, "by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," I said sternly,
"please turn around."
"It's all right, Mother. I
promise you will never forgive
yourself if you miss this
experience."
After about twenty minutes we
turned onto a small gravel road and
I saw a small church. On the far
side of the church I saw a hand
lettered sign "Daffodil Garden." We
got out of the car and each took a
child's hand, and I followed Carolyn
down the path. Then we turned a
corner of the path, and I looked up
and gasped. Before me lay the most
glorious sight. It looked as though
someone had taken a great vat of
gold and poured it down over the
mountain peak and slopes. The
flowers were planted in majestic,
swirling patterns, great ribbons and
swaths of deep orange, white, lemon
yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and
butter yellow. Each different
colored variety was planted as a
group so that it swirled and flowed
like its own river with its own
unique hue. Five acres of flowers.
"But who has done this?" I asked
Carolyn. "It's just one woman,"
Carolyn answered. "She lives on the
property. That's her home." Carolyn
pointed to a well kept A-frame house
that looked small and modest in the
midst of all that glory. We walked
up to the house. On the patio we saw
a poster "Answers to the Questions I
Know You Are Asking" was the
headline.
The first answer was a simple
one: "50,000 bulbs," it read.
The second answer was, "One at a
time, by one woman. Two hands, two
feet, and very little brain."
The third answer was, "Began in
1958."
There it was. The Daffodil
Principle. For me that moment was a
life changing experience. I thought
of this woman whom I had never met,
who, more than forty years before,
had begun, one bulb at a time, to
bring her vision of beauty and joy
to an obscure mountain top. Still,
just planting one bulb at a time,
year after year, had changed the
world.
This unknown woman had forever
changed the world in which she
lived. She had created something of
ineffable magnificence, beauty, and
inspiration. The principle her
daffodil garden taught is one of the
greatest principles of celebration:
learning to move toward our goals
and desires one step at a time,
often just one baby step at a time,
learning to love the doing, learning
to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of
time with small increments of daily
effort, we too will find we can
accomplish magnificent things. We
can change the world.
"It makes me sad in a way," I
admitted to Carolyn. "What might I
have accomplished if I had thought
of a wonderful goal thirty-five
years ago and had worked away at it
'one bulb at a time' through all
those years. Just think what I might
have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message
of the day in her direct way. "Start
now," she said.
============
CONCLUSION
============
{Words to Ponder are summaries of
His quickened Words}
WORD TO
PONDER: BIT BY BIT
Bit by bit, one step at a time, I
unfold My plans for your life. I
have given you My promise, that what
I have planted in your life is
intended to be a hidden wealth that
will come forth in the right season.
As time passes, you shall see
seasonal manifestations of these, My
planted treasures. Stay faithful to
Me and believe My Words spoken to
you. In the fullness of time I shall
multiply it all for My glory. As you
look back from whence you came, you
shall know without a doubt, that no
matter what, I have done far beyond
what you could ever ask or think.
Always remember that when your
life comes into blossom, that it
came from persistent time on your
spiritual knees.
1 Cor 2:9 KJV
But as it is written, Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him.
