Hello Spring

As the last droplets of ice sparkle in the light, I find myself delighting in the sun as it has begun to melt away the winter season.  Soon all of creation will erupt with the hope that this new life brings.  I am not the only one who has perceived the emerging change.There is an anticipation in the air!  All around me is the melody of singing.  Can you hear it? From the birds, to the bees, to even the frogs — the arrival of spring is being announced.  The earth is bursting forth with color once again!  I am ready to breath in all the fragrance that spring has to offer.  I have also noticed that not only has nature taken on this vibrant energy but even the people I encounter seem to have a bounce in their step that is in unison with the rhythm and the call of the creation surrounding them.

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Psalm 96

There is a story to be told, and spring is eager to tell it.  In many ways life is like spring; it is so unpredictable and ever changing, from cold and rainy to warm and sunny then back to cold and rainy.  I wonder if the purpose of spring is to awaken us from the hibernation brought on by the winter seasons of life.  Spring alerts all of us to the dawning of a new day, along with inviting us to be a part of it.  For most of my life I have been very cautious.  I like the expected, the familiar, the routines.  That is probably why I preferred the summer season the most; I know what to expect — clear skies, sunny and hot.  The predictability of summer gives me the sense of being in control, albeit that is a false assumption on my part.  So, as the sun is still peeking in and out from behind the clouds, spring points me to the certainty of another God truth that I can rest in and hold firmly.  That being, even though I can’t always see the light of God, and no matter how harsh and how long the winter seasons in my life may last, I can trust that God is always there and He makes all things new once again.  Every spring I am able to witness this truth which God has embedded within the very fabric of His creation.

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness [God]. Lamentations 3

It is in looking for the God stories that I find each season discloses new details in God’s narration of love.  That is why, as I was smelling the delightful essence of my orange blossoms, a thought began to unfold within me.  In the center of that little blossom, hidden away in the womb of that flower, a tiny fruit will materialize and that fruit will continue to grow throughout the following seasons.  Through this growing process the sweetness is developed on the inside and yet I won’t get to experience the full results of this growth until the next winter season.  As much as I don’t like winter, I realize God has already provided fruit that will enrich me with the needed nutrition and sweetness when once again my world grows cold.  In that one little orange blossom the whole life cycle is lived out.  Each of the seasons of life is needed to accomplish this sweetness that can nourish my life and the lives of others I encounter.  All of us start out in the darkness of the womb to be brought out into the light of God’s creation, and only then, to discover that you and I are the most valuable and cherished part of God’s story in creation.

You[God] made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! [God]Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139

I realize once again that observing creation can not be done with just one quick glance. It needs to be an on going process, and in that process discoveries will be made, each with their own set of lessons to be learned.  We have all heard the saying, “busy as a bee”.  That saying became real to me on this spring morning as I tried to capture a photo of a bee on a flower.  I found myself hoping for the bee to linger on a flower long enough to be able to focus and then capture this living bee on a living flower.  Let me tell you, after a seemingly endless string of burry pictures, it happened in a “wink”!  There it was, a clear image.  That clarity makes all the difference.  Can you see what is on the bee?  That powdery substance is known as pollen.  This pollen is an irritation for many people and yet this same pollen is vital for life.  Pollen is part of the reproductive process for most plants and is not limited to just flowers in spring time.  It can also appear on trees in the spring, grasses in the summer, and weeds in the fall.  As I watched this bee drink in the sweet nectar from the flowers, I found it interesting that the bee seemed completely unaware of the gathering pollen all over it.  The bee never appeared burdened or weighed down by the pollen.  Instead, I believe the bee just enjoyed fluttering from one flower to the next in its continual search for more of that sweet nectar.

Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11

At one point I stood up, and putting my camera down, I contemplated on how differently I would respond to being covered with pollen.  Forgetting that I am surrounded by the presence of sweet nectar, I would want to shake off all that pollen, take a shower and change my clothes.  At this time watching not just one bee but multiple bees I have come to the conclusion I would have chosen the wrong response.  Why does pollen cause an adverse immune reaction in some people and is a life giving protein for others?  The bee was just the carrier, but the reaction happens on the inside of me.  Could it be that through my lack of clear vision, along with the consequences of poor choices from past seasons, that I too have developed an adverse immune reaction to some of the life giving provisions of God?  What do I need to do to change that?

“That is why I [Jesus] tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Matthew 6

How can I know that I am truly valuable to God?  Actually, God’s thoughts of love for you and me are too numerous to even try to count in this short blog.  But, recently I found myself sitting in awe in front of my computer screen reviewing some newly down loaded photographs.  As spring is blooming all around us, I discovered a little treasure that God had hidden away in this very tiny wildflower. The sweetness of this flower appears for only a moment in time, as it is here today and gone tomorrow.  Magnifying God’s handiwork exposed the details of a flower within the center of the flower.  It is this miniature detail that has left me in a state of wonderment at the care God places in a flower that most would never even notice.  The heart of God is revealed in His many details throughout creation. Like this flower, God has “made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and I am wonderfully complex”.  Only now am I beginning to absorb God’s love for me.  To be honest, I believe even through a lifetime of discovery, I will still be on the path of “beginning to absorb” the depth of God’s love.  God is unfailingly patient as He desires to enhance and reveal His many details in my life, while at the same time, He is purposefully at work all around me — yes, even when I do not always notice it.  That is why as I progress into this new spring season, I am carried away by the thoughts, just like flowering buds popping forth on this once bare branch, “what wonderful details will God expose in my life this spring as I willingly embark from this day into the next?”

Life is unpredictable and ever changing, but our spring invitation has arrived, and it is inviting us to new beginnings.  Don’t let the random clouds fool you, look to God and He will will show you His fingerprints on your life.  Come with me and together we will bloom this spring!

You[God] will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever. Psalm 16