The Spring Tulip

It was one of those days we all have. I woke up and hit snooze... again... and again... and again. Until I couldn't wait any longer. I looked into the mirror and was disappointed. Once upon a time I'd close my eyes to sleep and wake up what felt like an instant later completely refreshed and excited to meet the day. Once upon a time... a long ago time. Today I just wished I could go back to sleep and never wake up. I'd felt that way yesterday and the day before and the day before that and I was pretty sure I'd feel that way tomorrow and the day after and the day after that. Why was life so hard? Why did I feel so alone? Why would I never be good enough for myself or anyone else?
It was a sunny day with only a few clouds and everything was soaking up the golden rays of the sun. In the middle of the yard near a bush, something caught my eye. A lone, orange tulip stood tall and proud. There were no other flowers around it, just it - but it didn't look lonely. Perhaps I am crazy, but it was the happiest little tulip I had ever seen. It didn't look like it was sad for being alone. It didn't look tired after fighting to get through the hard, dry dirt.
I couldn't help but imagine that that tulip wanted to make me smile. I imagine that it didn't realize how small it was or how soon it would die - it only knew how much it loved the sun, how it loved the air, and how it loved to make the world a prettier place, even for a short time. And I was glad it didn't know. Maybe it didn't need to know, or maybe it did know, and maybe it knew that it didn't matter. It was there to herald spring. It was there to remind us of better days, of innocence gone and yet to come. Maybe it knew and was content with it's humble purpose, because it knew that God Himself made it and smiled.
I am ready to face another day now. I am ready to go forward excited for what's ahead. Perhaps life is hard. Perhaps I am small and I will die and be forgotten.  But God knows who I am. He has a purpose for me and no matter how humble, it is meaningful, just as that little tulip was to me. So what if I am alone? Maybe I am the beginning, maybe I am the end, maybe I am in the middle. Whatever, I am ready to start again.