Kerry Campbell
About the Author

Kerry is a Catholic-Christian preschool music teacher, church singer, full-time noticer, and mom to two almost-grown kids. She’s letting the details of her life inform her wider view near Boston, Massachusetts, and writes about it all at My Little Epiphanies. Kerry is excited to see what may bloom in 2018!

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. What a beautiful analogy of life and God. Living in faith, believing in something that we cannot touch and control. Just plant and turn it over to God.

    • Such an inspirational analogy on faith and preparation for new growth and not visually able to see the transformation growing while under cover or temporarily hidden. Very heartwarming in the midst of our Missouri bitter COLD winter. Blessings of faith and growth to all.

  2. So beautiful! Thank you for this. I’m further down the Jouney of Life than you. My children have children. However, my husband & I feel similar emotions. We long for the past experiences we had cherished in our former “church family”. We had been members of the community for over 30 years. Although we moved to another town, for two years we traveled back on Sundays to remain a part of those precious members. Eventually we moved our church membership closer to our new home, and now feel “shelved”. We long for the shoots of new growth. Thank you from my heart.

  3. Kerry,

    Life is hard & unpredictable at times. Only God knows the paths & plans He has for us. We must hold onto hope. The last four or so years were unpredictable for me. My aging dad was having multiple health issues. I never knew when the phone would ring with a problem. It came to a point he had to be hospitalized. During that time I held out hope & cried out to God to “fix it”. I asked for God to just take him if this is how life will be for him. God had other plans. He healed him & allowed him 14 1/2 more good months. I got to show him the lake & go on walks with him. God graciously took him home March 2017. I’m thankful for the time we had. Praise God for giving me hope during that time.

    Blessings 🙂

    • Beth, it’s so true that God’s ways are above our ways, and it’s so good to know that His plans for us are always for our benefit, even when we can’t see how. I have cried out to God to “fix it” more times than I can count, but I’m (slowly) learning that goodness is always on the way, sometimes in a fashion we could not expect. I am so glad to hear of the time you got to enjoy with your Dad, what a blessing. All the best to you in 2018!

  4. Oh, Kerry…what calming words this morning. — So true that parenting is more of a faith-walk as our children age. Two of mine are adults and my baby will be 16 in a couple of months. Several years back, when my oldest started driving, I was feeling the angst of not being able to control His safety, and the Lord reminded me that — He was the one who was keeping Him safe all along, not me. He let me work alongside Him, but He’s been the one safeguarding my babies all along. Was such a humbling and peaceful reassurance for me. — Love your bulb analogy. Prayers for you, in this “winter of (your) life.” ((hug))

    • Thank you, Brenda! I’m not sure there’s anything that brings us to a real experience of faith more than having older kids! Thank God He has His Hands on them, and that He loves them even more than we do. Thank you for the prayers, and peace to you!

  5. Very cool way to put it. I think a lot of times God is working behind the scenes when we don’t think He is working.

  6. Thank you for sharing it’s timeliness it’s been a very hard week yet back in the fall; knew this was going to be very hard winter and I did that; I went and planting bulbs all along the entrance of the house in places where I can see out the window and I am waiting in faith for winter to pass … as a season and in my life.

  7. Kerry, your message is hope for this mom. My two children are still elementary school age but I’m told by those with older children: “little people — little problems, big people — big problems.” I’m hoping to turn that into, “little kids — little faith, big kids — big faith” as I have to put into practice exactly what you’re talking about. I loved how you said, “And just because you can’t see what’s happening doesn’t mean it’s not happening.” Praise God for always being at work for us.

  8. I love this reassuring reminder of what gorgeous things God is always working on under the cold surface, out of our view. I’m inspired by your words to keep the faith and to put some bulbs in my kitchen. I have many planted outside, but I love the idea of having them bloom inside as a reminder of His beauty to come. Thanks, Heather

  9. This is the most clear message God has sent me in some time. Thank you for being the messenger – and with the most eloquent prose. Thank you for following the impulse to write this. It’s ordained. His grace to you!

  10. My husband ’emergency’ flew to California last Wednesday to see his DYING ATHEIST BROTHER. His brother is not an angry man. On the contrary, he seems very pleasant and kind. He is on oxygen 24/7 now and in stage 4 cancer that began as bladder cancer. Please pray for ‘FAST BLOOMING ETERNAL BULBS’ in this case, and that God will use my husband to share the gospel in a way that will penetrate Dave’s heart and lead to SALVATION.
    Thank you for allowing me to ask here.
    As your post so beautifully puts it, there is sooooo much going on underneath!!!
    And although things may ‘look’ dead or atheist – underneath, things are/can be churning.
    Pray, pray for salvation, for Dave, for your loved ones, for your friends, for the person you pass through the Walmart door.
    For it is not His will that ANY should perish!

    • I’m praying for Dave’s salvation and wisdom for your husband too!!! I’m lacking the words to say in such a situation…except that if God cares about sparrows, does He not care MUCH MORE about the unique people He made even if they ignore and rebel against Him?

      Dear Lord! We feel this is an emergency, but You know exactly how long Dave’s life will yet be. Please do your work in his heart, so he will realize the consequences it has if he keeps rejecting You, before it is too late!!!

      Sending my love to you, Crystal, and praying for this situation that must not be easy for you either!
      Mary

      • Mary ~
        Thank you, for your beautiful prayer – and to it I say in heart agreement Amen!
        Also, I appreciate your kind words of encouragement. God bless you for taking the
        time to respond!
        – Crystal

    • Prayers for Dave, for you, and for your husband, that God make His presence and His love so known and so apparent that it cannot possibly be missed. Peace to you, Crystal!

      • In the name above ALL names, Jesus – Amen, amen, amen.
        Thank you, Kerry, for your beautiful post, that hit in such an unexpected way! – allowing me to ask for prayer and joining with other sisters in Christ to seek the ‘blooming’ of salvation!
        – Crystal

  11. Thank you Kerry for your sharing – I love the analogy – as I ponder the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit, I anticipate with great delight the breaking open of the soil as the bulb with roots firmly planted below, bursts forth reaching for the nourishing rays of light – savouring the moment – basking in God’s glory – hope springs eternal.

  12. Kerry, what a wonderful testament to trusting God with whatever He has planned.

    I love amaryllis bulbs to remind us of the promise of spring; however, can you let your bulbs become more than that? Can you let them become your “standing stones” like from the Old Testament scriptures here tall stones would be erected for all to see what God had done in that person or groups life?

    When the flowers die back, do NOT cut the entire plant back, just the flower stalk (pruning out the withered). Leave the leaves and put the pots outside for the summer. Water as you would a regular plan (faithfulness to God’s plan). In the fall bring in your now lush plant and it will flower again and again. Last winter I had 16 flowers off my “dead” bulbs. It reminds me of God’s unending promise to provide.

    • Thank you, Jan! I am no gardener, so I truly appreciate the practical tips and their spiritual applications. I love a metaphor, especially one I can see. Peace to you!

    • Hi Jan,
      I had one amaryllis plant that grew leaves late, and never flowered. I would LOVE to see this one flower, and I wonder if you could advise me. Should I put it out this summer and bring it back in for the fall? Should I give it some time in the dark? Any advice is appreciated, thank you!
      Kerry

  13. Sitting in my chair with my fur baby Bob at my side, I enjoy scripture and coffee with my BEST friend each and every morning. It’s dark outside but I know the sun will rise and the day will begin. In winter the leaves are gone and the earth is void of color. However, I know that spring will come again and nature will come alive. I BELIEVE and in my BELIEF is the knowing that I have HOPE not just for springtime but for help thru the difficulties and disappointments in life that will come into all our lives. God is always watching and working ❤️

  14. Thank you, Kerry. I needed to read what you wrote today, because I am at a place where I feel that hope is elusive. Proverbs says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. I have hoped for 52 years, and I am now heartsick. Then I read where you said ‘just because you can’t see what’s happening doesn’t mean it isn’t happening’. That alone has given me hope again, fragile though it may be.
    Many blessings…

  15. Thank you from this transplanted Iowan!

    I have lived in and loved Arizona for 34 years and because of my health I don’t get back to Iowa anymore but I’ve had a photo framed and hanging on the wall here by my desk where I can just move my head a tad and see it. The photographer was a grand old gentleman and this photo is a scene of stately pine trees heavily covered with snow. I captioned it with this quote from a devotional years ago.
    “In the heart of winter is the hope of spring.”

    You have written it all so beautifully. Thank you and please keep writing.

  16. Thank you for the encouragement this brutally cold winter. This is so true and a very good metaphor for life.

  17. Last spring I purchased two Hyacinth flowers in glass jars from a local supermarket. I definitely enjoyed the blooms but never got around to planting the bulbs in the fall.
    Well, a few weeks ago I noticed that one bulb…and then the other were growing again in their glass jars! I am already starting to see flowers on one.
    We have a bunch of mini daffodil plants outside and because we are having unusual weather-very cold and then some spring like days, some of those plants have also started to shoot up already.
    He is faithful!

  18. Hi Kerry! I am a gardener, and I marvel in God’s creation year-round. I agree that it’s hard to see the growth in a dark and cold season, but God is still working behind the scenes. Wishing for spring today along with you!

  19. What a perfect comparison of the bulbs to something dead and ugly in our lives! I want to plant bulbs!!! Thank you for sharing.

  20. Your bulb story reminds me of something I read last week, that God doesn’t need our help, to do anything. But we sure need His. I hope your garden blooms brightly.

  21. Hi Kerry,

    Beautifully inspiring words from you, I hope these cold days soon come to end as season of winter go through,
    I live in the Bahamas where the weather is always warm, so I would love to share a little of your cold weather. Please pray for my older brother who needs to understand that God can give us all peace, I am trying so hard to get him out to our Sunday worship, so he can feel God peace and understand that God is with him. Please pray for him. thanks

    • Dale, thank you for your kind words and for your prayers. I am placing my hope in God that as our weather turns to spring, the situations in my life that need resolution will finally break through to the glory of God. My prayer for your brother is that the peace of God confronts him in such a way that he cannot ignore or avoid it, that he will turn not to the right or left, but look on the face of Jesus who is looking on him in indescribable love. My prayer for you is the same prayer I pray for myself, that we can trust Him in the dark and be shown how He works in glorious light, and soon, soon, soon. Amen!

  22. You see truth and beauty in what most of us just take for granted. You are truly gifted!!!!