Seeing results

This week, as I looked at the daffodils and tulips blooming riotously in my front gardens, I thought, “Sometimes, things actually work.” And when I thought of what actually worked lately, Saturday immediately came to mind. It was one of those days when things worked, and I felt like celebrating when it was done.

You see, after days of worrying about how our annual Ethics Bowl would fare in the middle of a planned protest against a seminary event on our campus, things actually worked. Our 100 seniors and 30 judges appeared bright and early. The seniors were spiffed and polished, and they spent a long morning analyzing and questioning ethical decisions. The energy in the two buildings where we met was palpable, and many of the judges commented to me on how well-prepared and thoughtful our seniors were. We all watched a final round in which two of our best teams ever squared off. At the end of the day, Ethics Bowl worked.

At the same time, from my view through the windows, it looked to me as if the protest worked, too. About 200 protestors gathered peacefully on the corner of campus, banged drums, waved banners and walked with excitement over to the chapel. I was impressed to recognize many students in the crowd – at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, no less! – deeply committed to their beliefs. The protestors returned about an hour later and spread out all along the intersection of two streets, cheering as passing cars honked their horns at the protestors’ signs. Hooray for free speech, I thought. In this case, the organizers’ attempt to make a public point worked.

By now, perhaps, you’re wondering why in the world I thought of these things when I stood outside admiring my tulips and daffodils. Simple. For the first time, no squirrels or rabbits have used my gardens as a salad bar. Spring bulbs worked!

And if I can grow spring bulbs, after years of failure, perhaps we can all do many things – like get through the rest of this busy semester and learn something. I love it when things work!