We are at the last, dear gardeners—the last of Lent and the day commemorating the Last Supper. Likewise, what is the last “flower of the field” to bloom in the succession of red wildflowers in Israel? Poppies! Papaver rhoeas, the common poppy, flourishes at the end of the Holy Land’s brief, brilliant, springtime bloom, in turn leading us to the last Word:
Because when all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel—God-With-Us.
Isaiah 8:10 The Message
God with us! The great fulfillment, Jesus, our Immanuel has come. Through his birth, his death, and his rise from the dead, he established what was glimpsed in John’s Revelation:
“See! God’s Sh’khinah [Divine Presence] is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God.
Revelation 21:3 CJB
Let us rejoice and plant poppies, that they may be our garden reminders that the Lord has come, the Lord saves, and He is God-with-us forevermore! All good news!
Poppies in the Garden
Poppies are annual, sun-loving, late spring flowers, best started from seed scattered in the end-of-winter cool soil, or late fall for warmer climates. Sow seeds on an evenly raked ground with debris removed, cover lightly and press gently into soil. Keep the ground moist, though spring rains should help with that…the rest is reported to be relatively carefree! I look forward to these beauties from High Country Gardens (although our Texas garden is already in the 80s some days, so I will be saving the seeds to sow closer to Jesus’ birth, not his resurrection, LOL!). Papaver rhoeas is also known as corn poppy, Flander’s poppy, Shirley poppies, or red poppies.
Fleeting Flowers, Enduring Words
Though their flourish and quick fizzle might otherwise bring despair, once flowers have faded, enjoy the striking seed heads in arrangements, and let a few linger to reseed for next year. Furthermore, we have the everlasting instruction that our floral loss points to our Word-of-God gain.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8 & 1 Peter 1:24-25 NIV
Join me in cherishing the truth of Immanuel, God with us, and Words spoken throughout Scripture to assure us of God’s forever presence.
I am with you and will save you
Jeremiah 30:11
I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you
Isaiah 43:2 NIV
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid
Psalm 118:6 NIV
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Psalm 23:4
God is with us; he is our leader
2 Chronicles 13:12 NIV
… with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
2 Chronicles 32:8 KJV
“Blessed be God, who has given peace to his people Israel just as he said he’d do. Not one of all those good and wonderful words that he spoke through Moses has misfired. May God, our very own God, continue to be with us just as he was with our ancestors—may he never give up and walk out on us. May he keep us centered and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors.
1 Kings 8:56-58 The Message
Your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Wishing you, dear gardener, a holy, happy weekend of celebrating Passover & Easter! The Garden in Delight blog returns to its regular, bi-weekly schedule beginning April 12th.
Let Faith Flourish! is a Lenten series on “flowers of the field”— crown anemones, chamomile, narcissus, tulips, lilies, and poppies. In these flower-filled weeks ahead, as our landscapes wake up in spring’s gentle warming and fill with bloom and blossom, may worry be displaced with the Word of the Lord. May the true flourish of the Lenten season be in our faith!
To order seeds of the common poppy, visit High Country Gardens at www.highcountrygardens.com
Photo Credits:
©2004 Dag Terje Filip Endresen
Poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) in a field of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at Alnarp, Sweden
Flickr Creative Commons
c. 1890 F.E. Köhler, Medizinal Pflanzen, vol. 3: t. 17
Papaver rhoeas L.
corn poppy, Field Poppy, Red Poppy
www.botanicalillustrations.org
©2012 Flavio~
Lakhish-007
Pragim @ Lakhish, Israel
Flickr Creative Commons
