Paperwhites

Some Christians prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas by lighting candles each week. Others open little windows in an Advent calendar each day. I prefer to grow paperwhites. I place the bulbs on rocks in a clear glass bowl and fill it with water. Then I let the new growth remind me that the new life of Christ is coming, too. When planted at the beginning of Advent, approximately a few days after Thanksgiving, the paperwhites begin to set buds about midway to Christmas, and bloom sometime just before. The blooms last throughout the Christmas season - till well after New Years.

I see so much symbolism in these pretty little plants, beginning with the transparent container which reveals the roots and holds the water and rock. I see this as how my life should be - transparent and rooted in Christ, the rock of my faith.



The green shoots speak of new life, which in time set forth buds of promise. With loving care, sunlight and water, the blossoms begin to open - till they fill the air with their sweet perfume and eventually burst into a bouquet of glorious silvery white flowers, looking like stars with gold centers. A marvelous gift from the Creator.