Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Denise Bossert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/files\/2013\/11\/daffodil-bulbs.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Denise Bossert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Denise Bossert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/\",\"name\":\"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/7632bbf420b479daf27b457acc3f63e0\"},\"description\":\"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/\",\"name\":\"Denise Bossert\",\"description\":\"Denise Bossert, Catholic author, syndicated columnist, & speaker\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/7632bbf420b479daf27b457acc3f63e0\",\"name\":\"Denise Bossert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4837ae290ed267d40bde8e315811dc3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4837ae290ed267d40bde8e315811dc3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Denise Bossert\"},\"description\":\"Denise Bossert is a convert to the Catholic Church; she is the daughter of a Protestant minister. Denise is a Catholic speaker on topics that include: conversion, the Immaculate Conception, the Visitation and Women of Salvation History.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/author\/dbossert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption","description":"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption","og_description":"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/","og_site_name":"Denise Bossert","article_published_time":"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/files\/2013\/11\/daffodil-bulbs.jpg"}],"author":"Denise Bossert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Denise Bossert","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/","name":"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-09T17:15:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/7632bbf420b479daf27b457acc3f63e0"},"description":"Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/","name":"Denise Bossert","description":"Denise Bossert, Catholic author, syndicated columnist, & speaker","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/7632bbf420b479daf27b457acc3f63e0","name":"Denise Bossert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4837ae290ed267d40bde8e315811dc3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4837ae290ed267d40bde8e315811dc3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Denise Bossert"},"description":"Denise Bossert is a convert to the Catholic Church; she is the daughter of a Protestant minister. Denise is a Catholic speaker on topics that include: conversion, the Immaculate Conception, the Visitation and Women of Salvation History.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/author\/dbossert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":185,"date":"2013-11-09T17:15:29","date_gmt":"2013-11-09T17:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/?p=185"},"modified":"2013-11-09T17:15:29","modified_gmt":"2013-11-09T17:15:29","slug":"time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisebossert\/2013\/11\/09\/time-to-plant-bulbs-time-to-reflect-on-redemption\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Plant Bulbs, Time to Reflect on Redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"daffodil$ <\/a>Have you ever noticed how ugly daffodil bulbs are? I planted some recently. Every single one looked dried out and ready for the trash can. Even the root system looked like something I\u2019d sweep into a dustpan. It\u2019s hard to believe that I will have any green shoots in the spring. It\u2019s even harder to believe that those green shoots will reach up to touch the sunlight of those first warm days of spring and unfold into little yellow cups and saucers.<\/p>\n

There are days when I feel more like a daffodil bulb than a daffodil flower. There are days when my best efforts look like something God might sweep up with a broom and dustpan and toss in the trash.<\/p>\n

But God is the ultimate gardener. He sees the potential in every life. He knows that, down deep inside, there is a flower just waiting to emerge. He knows that the attention He gives us now \u2013 on a cool November afternoon when the hours of daylight are dwindling \u2013 that attention will yield something beautiful when the Light of the Son touches us.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m ready to be a daffodil. I\u2019m ready to break out of the bulb. I\u2019m tired of being dormant. Of waiting.<\/p>\n

But I am not in charge of timing. That\u2019s God\u2019s business. I am only called to submit to the Gardener\u2019s hands, to accept the soil that covers me and teaches me a lesson in humility and patience, and then to awaken with the first rays of springtime.<\/p>\n

In that moment, it will be difficult to remember the cold of November, the bleak days of December, the relentless snows of January, and the lingering remnants of February\u2019s winter.<\/p>\n

Then, God willing, I will flower.<\/p>\n

All the potential that He has placed within me will be actualized. And my greatest hope, my deepest longing, that thing that drives me some days and quiets me other days, that one thing I long to do . . . to cause someone to pause as Wordsworth did and acknowledge the Creator through the simple gift of the created . . . that will happen!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"