The Lessons of Spring
Oh! How I love this season of the year!
Winter is behind me and all that stretches in front of me are the last few days of spring and then the hot and lazy days of summer … glorious summer!
Isn’t this just the very best time of the year?!
My windows are finally open and the fresh air does a thorough spring cleaning of my home from the dustiness and stuffiness of winter. Even the unseen atmosphere ushers in the jubilation of a new and revitalizing season! I am healed by just a whiff of spring-time air! It’s almost as if the very breeze is singing, “Spring has arrived! It’s time for new growth … new life … new strength!”
This gentle breeze of springtime echoes the sentiments of my heart exactly!
Birds are singing their little hearts out and I applaud their resilient concert with more raucous joy than should be allowed to fill one woman’s soul. These sweet birds herald the arrival of sunshine, longer days, vibrant flowers and outdoor living!
These miniature musicians sing with gusto my sentiments exactly!
The grass is a luscious and flourishing green that seems to defiantly proclaim, “I lived! I made it through winter! Take that, you ferocious and frigid snow!”
The simplicity of verdant grass declares my sentiments exactly!
And then … there are the flowers! Buds are exploding everywhere … on the trees … on the bushes … in my gardens … spring is on grand display with the hope of summer brilliance to follow! It’s as if the flowers, the bushes, the gardens and even the trees are putting on a multicolored show that defies the black and white world that winter only knows.
The lush palette of these late days of springtime boasts, “All of creation declares the glory of God!”
My sentiments exactly!
Wow! How did I get so blessed?! Why am I allowed to visually bask in the artistry that belongs abundantly to this prime time of year?
How did I get to be selected to hear the song of this season that breaks forth into a grand symphony of soaring melody and rich harmonies?
How did I get to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven that invades the common oxygen of earth during this particular time of year?
But … wait a minute … hold everything! STOP!
Is that actually a weed that I see raising its bold and unwanted head in the glory of my garden?! The audacious nerve of that weed!!
How dare that crop of dandelions join the rich, green carpet of grass that covers my front lawn?! Who do those dandelions think that they are?! Indeed! They might be yellow today but tomorrow they will be nothing but seeds blowin’ in the wind.
And while I am at it … let me just say … the unwanted bravado of those lawn mowers … and the barking behavior of the neighborhood dogs … and the screaming motorcycles … that drown out the simple yet powerful voice of the songbird!! Don’t those shrill contraptions and creatures know that spring is on display?!
Have I mentioned that my driveway needs repair … winter has been hard on it. The blacktop has cracked due to the frigid temperatures of winter and the cruel pounding of the snowplow on its surface. Those cracks are now boasting yet another sign of the times … grass and weeds are growing through the broken surface of asphalt. Even a dandelion or two has the guts to gaze at me from the impossible surface of that which was meant to be impenetrable.
Springtime is a lot of work! Weeds … repairing … mowing … fixing … opening … closing … mulching … planting … removing … restoring …
But let me quickly say … springtime is worth it.
Let me also swiftly interject … summer is also worth it.
There will always be seasons in life that usher in rare change and vibrant beauty … but those artistic and resplendent seasons are not solely beautiful. They also come with challenges and disappointments and noise.
I can either focus on the flowers or on the frustration.
I can either listen for the song of heaven or for the cacophony of man’s interruptions.
I can either work with joy or with disappointment.
It’s up to me how I welcome spring and how I embrace summer.
It’s up to me how I wave good-bye to winter and embrace the glory of today.
It’s up to me how I endure unwelcomed and uncomfortable friction.
It’s up to me.
Will I be more aware of the unmatched beauty of my life or of the languishing intrusions that often accompany the beauty?
Will I complain or will I rejoice?
Will I sing or will I whine?
It’s up to me.
I choose this day … and every day of the year … to rejoice in the day that it is.
I choose in this month … and in every month of the year … to rejoice in the month that it is.
I choose in this season … and in every season of the year … to rejoice in the season that it is.
When the bills are paid … I rejoice! When the bills are not paid … I still rejoice!
When the doctor’s report is good … I rejoice! When the doctor’s report is challenging … I still rejoice!
When the kids are all at home … I rejoice! When my brood of offspring are miles and continents removed from me … I still rejoice!
Springtime … may I just thank you for this lovely lesson today?
Thank you for the reminder that in the midst of miraculous splendor … I will rejoice!
And thank you for the more important reminder that in the midst of marred perfection and unforeseen disappointments … I rejoice still!
“For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.”- Song of Solomon 2:11 & 12
