That husband of mine. He was headed home from a week-long trip to Russia. He had a layover in Amsterdam. And knowing how much I love tulips, he bought a box of tulip bulbs in the airport.

It wasn’t easy getting the bulbs through customs, as you might imagine. And I was delighted to receive them when he came home. In January. In Minnesota.

The box of bulbs said in big bold letters: “Plant immediately.”

In January? In Minnesota?

The box of bulbs went into the refrigerator until the week we moved. I packed up in a laundry basket full of food from the pantry. We moved. And the snow fell. And I unpacked the food and re-read the box. “Plant immediately.”

In March? In Minnesota?   

The snow kept coming and piling up high. It kept coming and piling up high right through March. It kept coming and piling up high right through April, to the very end of April. And then finally I pulled out the box again.

“Plant immediately.”

In May? In Minnesota?

So we did.

And God made a tulip!