Sweet remembrancers
Stroll with me down memory lane at Keukenhof, Netherlands, March 2007.
…Thus in each flower and simple bell,
That in our path untrodden lie,
Are sweet remembrancers who tell
How fast the winged moments fly.
Time will steal on with ceaseless pace,
Yet lose we not the fleeting hours,
Who still their fairy footsteps trace,
As light they dance among the flowers. — Charlotte Turner Smith
It was eight years and two days ago that Amy and I enjoyed an early spring day at Keukenhof in the Netherlands. The hours there passed all too quickly, but the memories have lingered on, enhanced by the hundreds of photos I took that day. That day, as I was snapping away with my camera, I didn’t even really know what a blog was, and certainly never dreamed of the events that would lead to my sharing so many of the photos with all of you.
I couldn’t remember which snapshots I have already used here, so I did a quick check and found I’ve already published at least a dozen posts featuring photos I took that wonderful day. I hope they’re not getting boring.
How often thoughts of the dazzling colors and glorious greenery I saw that day have brought cheer to me in moments of sadness or exhaustion! I couldn’t let springtime pass without featuring at least one more picture I took then, because Keukenhof captures for me the heart and soul of the season’s beauty.
“Time will steal on with ceaseless pace, Yet lose we not the fleeting hours…” Wise words to keep in mind anytime, but especially so in spring, when nature brings us many reasons to rejoice. I hope you will make some time to gather memories outdoors that will “dance among the flowers” whenever you most need them.
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: crocus, flowers, gardens, hyacinths, Keukenhof, memories, nature, Netherlands, seasons, springtime, time
Defeat Despair 
Unbelievably beautiful 🌷
Thank you! I’m so glad you like it.
I definitely need to go to Keukenhof — it’s a major item on my trip wish list. But in the meantime I savor your photos 🙂 .
Thank you Susan! I need to update you on what has happened to me. I will email you my hospital discharge summary and the photos. You don’t need to look at the photos unless you want too– they are pretty gross. But it will give you an idea what I’m facing. I am told that the impact and trauma were so severe that I am lucky to be alive and (mostly) lucid. So as bad, painful, disfiguring and depressing as my current situation is, I still feel lucky, and that God has spared me from much worse. It’s going to be a long road, though…
The golfing great Walter Hagan said, “While playing golf one must take time to smell the flowers along the way.”
Beauty never gets boring, Julia.
God never gets boring for those who can embrace the beauty that is inherent in divine truth.
-Alan
Thank you, Alan. Over the past week I have thought often of you and what you endured and overcame. You will be an inspiration to me through the long months of reconstruction ahead. I will try to email you the details. Thanks for being here.
Will always be here, Julia. So long as God wills. Look forward to hearing of your progress.
-Alan
Thank you Alan. ❤ I may be re-reading your books in the long months ahead!
Update to prayer request – just got word that Matt’s heart surgery (tricuspid valve replacement) is scheduled for Wednesday, one week from today. He needs our prayers too! I am thankful that I will be there with him, as far as we can now tell.
It means a great deal to me that you should choose my books, Julia. Honored.
-Alan