In the Bulb There Is A Flower

April 27, 2008 

Dad opens the service with The Gathering song In the Bulb There Is A Flower. As soon as the congregation began to sing, I was brought to tears. The words first took me to singing around the piano with mom and dad at my house, where I first heard it. Then I was quickly transported to Uncle B's service last fall when my Aunt S. whispered to me, "I requested this one." 

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Track 2 is short and I believe contains JL in prayer

Track 3 after the scripture I believe it is JL giving the sermon 

Hello Readers,

Yesterday I was listening to a new to me podcast Smartless. Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes host a guest each week, only one of them knows who the person will be ahead of time. I love Ron Howard who worked with Jason and Will in Arrested Development, a favorite show of mine. This interview took place in their first season in 2020. One question they asked Ron is about his mindset when he was first transitioning from acting into directing. I was encouraged by his response [paraphasing] he said he decided it was ok to work towards a good average. He encouraged the listeners to apply this to whatever it was they do in life. Ron related it to television, a medium where he had enjoyed two suceesful runs. He said a series isn't going to have all perfect episodes. As he began to make movies his hope was that his work as a whole would be successful, it was too overwhelming to aim towards each movie being a blockbuster.

Ron Howard insights continue in the book he cowrote with his brother, The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family. I am amazed at the integrity showen by the Howard family. I am blessed to have similar roots of love in my own upbrining. The song above encourages me to remember there is often more than what meets the eye. Often timing and a new point of view reveal deeper hidden insights. Similarly the podcast reminds me to step back from the microscope of one detail in front of me and to instead keep in mind the whole body of work.

Thanks for reading.

Stay well,

Amy BH

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shall We Gather at the River?

  November 25 2007 In this service: Dad opens the gathering with Shall We Gather at the River?, sister does much of the worship leading, niece and brother-in-law share about recent travels to El Barbasco, Honduras.  Hello Readers, I like how this hymn opens with a question and then answers it over and over with each refrain. Similarly, I gathered this week with my loved ones to remember my Uncle Butch who died 10/19/2025 at age 81. He lived a full life up to his final moments. He coached a runner on Saturday. He called his sister and niece (me) on Tuesday. He sent a birthday card to his great, great, nephew. He even went out and finished a serving of shrimp scampi with his wife of over 50 years, who had no idea this would be their last meal together. Uncle Butch delighted in his yard and especially found pleasure in decorating for the holidays. He told me on the phone last week that they had some lights out and a big spider for Halloween. The tradition was to exchange the spid...
Read more

Traditions

Hello Readers, This week I found myself pondering the question, 'If you could have something from your childhood (such as a toy/album) what would it be?' I instantly knew my answer, but it was not something I could find on E-bay or Amazon. It was my father's Christmas poems. Every year, on Christmas morning, we would get up before the break of dawn, and find many things: loaded stockings, massive amounts of colorfully wrapped presents under our lit tree, and in the tree itself a handwritten note. Our names, Leslie, Helen, and Amy would each be easily found on the outside or top. Inside was Dad's distinctive drafting-learned handwriting. He always used thick colorful construction paper, the type every child of the 1970's remembers. Dad's style of poetry was a mixture of Dr. Seus' rhythm with a sort of third-person Mark Twain storytelling. The daughter was Tom Sawyer and Dad used her current life as content. The Dr. Seus-like rhythms often made us stumble and ...
Read more

Testing, Is This Thing On?

Welcome back Readers! I am excited to write and share with you that it is not too late! One thing I have enjoyed this past summer is listening to  Pop Culture Preservation Society  a podcast hosted by three women from Minneapolis. The hosts call their research rabbit holes versus their vulnerability, which they call getting a twisty feeling in their tummy. As I relate their podcast to my Blog, I have been encouraged to go for it and to remember to seek things I enjoy.  My dad also believed this sentiment. After he retired, he decided to take up the guitar and to make it a priority in his daily routine. He also took on the role of leading music. I will share more about this in the future. To close, I leave you with a sample of what seems to be one of the first times Dad used the microphone in this setting  Father's Day 2007 . If you listen to the end, you get to hear a loving sermon lead by my sister. Thanks for reading. Stay well, AbH
Read more