SPRING ~ A season of change

I love Spring ~ It is a season of change for sure. If April showers bring May flowers then we know that with the rain comes growth and growth is painful sometimes, messy and sloppy and well, dreary and gray.

What I love about Spring is not the rain, the mess, the gray and gloomy sky, but the newness, the freshness and the sense of new beginnings. Is it any wonder that Spring is when the wedding season starts, and graduations commence? Life is springing forth all over the place. As I reflect on activities that are about to take place, I had that brand new feel of a fresh rain. Can you smell it? Can you feel the clean slate? The dead of winter is washing away and being replaced with a new start.

Kids are excited and giddy with the thought that school is almost out for the summer. The excitment is contagious. No one wants to sit and study. There are adventures to begin. Not all are graduating, but many are, and with that is maybe some fear and confusion mixed with the excitment. Will I be able to make it in the world? Many are leaving home for the first time to start a new life of college or work. Many are graduating from college and starting life with a "real" grown up job. The great thing is that like a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, these people, young or old, are going to fly into a new life too. It is a new beginning. A chance to start with a clean slate. To move onto to a new journey, a new beginning.

Some are making a life change into marriage. Where life of being a single means becoming one with another. The changes have only just begun. If it were all easy we would miss the blessing. We would miss the growth. I, for one, am thankful for the rain and the times of growth. It is during those dreary times that the most amazing growth takes place. It is painful at times, but the result is so much more amazing than we ever could have imagined.

As many are spreading their wings and getting ready to fly, there are mamma's wringing their hands and wiping their eyes. Letting our babies go and watching them leave the nest is difficult. What a blessing to know that God has given each of us exactly what we need to make these hard transitions.

Soon the clouds of doubt and confusion and fear will roll away. The sun will shine and we will see more clearly the path that God has for us. We will be able to enjoy the light and warmth of the new life. Just know that about the time you start to feel comfortable and think you have a handle on this new life, things will be shaken. In life there is always a storm coming. Are you prepared to weather it? If you know the Lord, the one that controls the wind and rain, you can weather any storm of life.

I have no major changes taking place this Spring, but I see the growth. I feel the tears of joy and fear and sorrow. I walk along beside others, holding an umbrella, or tissue. Sometimes we are called to walk through the rain and sometimes we are the one holding the umbrella. Whatever, the role you are in this year, enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. Take time to smell the fresh, clean air. To feel the coolness of the rain and the warmth of the sun. To see the gray clouds roll away and the blue sky replace them with the shining of the sun. Listen as new life peeps forth all around. Can you hear it? Can you feel it??

Happy Spring!