The Glories of Springtime

I pause from my work digging in the soft earth, and lay back under my maple tree. Its tiny leaves unfurled only days before have grown large enough to cast a fairly deep shade. 

Their growing size belies their newness. Each leaf is still supple and displays the vivid green of new spring. 


The young leaves dance on the gentle breeze against a bright blue sky, and I am transfixed. I feel I could lay here all day long.  

It seems I have never appreciated a springtime as much as I have this year. I have waited so long to feel and breathe in the newness of life all around me. The tulips are still dancing in their springtime best, opening fully under the mid-day sun and closing back up at night. 

And the lilacs are blooming. THE LILACS ARE BLOOMING! Springtime has surely arrived when the rows of lilacs everywhere show their glorious lavender and purple hues and share their heavenly fragrances. It a bountiful year for these floriferous shrubs, and I will cherish every nose-full of their heavenly scents. 

To say our springtime was wet would be quite an understatement. But look at the bounty! Though Spring was late to arrive, it is hurrying to catch up with itself, sporting new growth all around us. The soft grass feels wonderful under my bare feet, and oh! how I love the fuzzy, soft green the mosses under my feet.

I will soon be planting flowers and vegetables in earnest. With good care, watering and fertilizing, and plenty of sunshine lovin' on my plants, I will reap a bounty of goodness and beauty for my efforts.

And so it is with my spiritual life. If I tend to the needs of my spirit, and sometimes hush the busyness of everyday life long enough to delight in the beauty of the natural world, I find I am blessed with serenity, and peace. 

If I quiet my mind and back off of my to-do list, and pause, and pray, I keep my focus on what is really important: my relationship with God. 

In any season, I want the fruits of my labor to be pleasing to Him. I want my purpose in life to be that which He intends for me. And I can only know when I am on the right path if I stay in tune with His Spirit's leading. 

I will leave you with these meaningful words from Psalm 65, verses 9 through 13 in the NLT:

"You take care of the earth

Making it rich and fertile.

The river of God has plenty of water;

it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, 

for you have ordered it so.

You drench the plowed ground with rain, 

melting the clods and leveling the ridges.

You soften the earth with showers

and bless its abundant crops.

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;

even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

The grasslands and the wilderness become a lush pasture,

and the hillsides blossom with joy.

The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,

and the valleys are carpeted with grain.

They all shout and sing for joy!"

I love how this passage matches how joyously I feel in celebrating this springtime. And not only springtime, but the promise of the harvest. God brings new life into our hearts, and through His work in us, we produce the harvest we bring in our lives. 

Enjoy the blessings of new life and renewal, in the earth and in yourselves. Happy Spring!