HYMNS
Natalie Sleeth (1930-1992) is a much beloved American composer of music used widely in churches and schools. This week, we'll use two songs by Natalie Sleeth: #19 “God of Great and God of Small” written in 1973 and #250 "In the Bulb There is a Flower (Hymn of Promise)”. Sleeth wrote both the tunes and the texts for today's hymns.
Sleeth was born in Evanston, Illinois. She earned a BA in music theory at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She married the Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Sleeth, a professor of Homiletics. "Hymn of Promise" was composed in early 1985, and dedicated simply to Dr. Sleeth, "To Ron," who was diagnosed with cancer and died weeks after its premiere. Knowing her husband was dying when it was written, the text is especially poignant.
In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
There’s a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there’s a dawn in every darkness,
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.