Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent
as a sunny spring day. — W. Earl Hall

Most of us love the season of spring, and we get excited just thinking about flowers, blossoms on trees, multiple colors of green. We especially look forward to it after a harsh, cold winter. This year I’ve heard many people say: “It feels like it’s been a very long winter.” Every time we thought that winter had ended, we got one more surprise – a snowstorm, a heavy rain or wind storm, temperatures dropping below the freezing mark.

The word “spring” comes from the Old English meaning “the place of rising or issuing as in a wellspring, the source of a stream or spring.” Actually the word seems to have an optimistic ring to it – it makes us feel more energetic and lively.

It appears that spring has honestly and finally arrived at last. I think of spring as an almost magical time, because as the colors explode with vividness and freshness I feel my soul waking up to the joy of life. And for me, there’s the added special pleasure of working in the soil and dirt of my garden again. As Margaret Atwood writes, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” When I raked up the remains of the debris left from the fall and winter, I could see the perennial flowers sticking out their tiny heads – almost as though they were looking for the sun’s healing light. Yes, it seems that another miracle has occurred!

Perhaps more importantly, spring is a tangible reminder of some spiritual and psychological truths that we often forget, so we might want to heed the lessons of winter’s dormancy. Just as nature needs its inertia or “down time” to regenerate, so do we. The cycle of winter followed by the glorious birthing of spring reminds us that our times of dark distress, misery, and loss can actually produce the seeds of new promise, new hope, new life. Spring brings in growth and joy, and we too can find ourselves understanding that all is not lost, that there are many surprises just around the corner for us, that God is at work in our life.

Yes, most of us love and yearn for this special, almost astonishing season – especially after a cold winter. But we can get complacent or too busy and we might miss the gifts of spring.

I’m wondering what you love about this spring season? Do you appreciate the Creator’s brilliance as you experience the warmer days and the glorious colors that shout out around you? Do you set time aside to be refreshed by the sounds and sights of spring?

I believe God is inviting us to enter into a deep and meaningful relationship with this extraordinary season of the year. May we soak it up and watch our own souls blossom and grow, much like those amazing flowers. Let us celebrate and delight in the wonders of spring.

Beloved Creator of Spring, thank you for the gifts of beauty and new life that we experience in this season. Help us to learn the lessons of this season. May we pause from our busy-ness and our distractions and bask in the peace and hope of this miraculous season. Amen.

Joy Carol
Joy carol.com