The mornings are so beautiful right now that I want to soak them in before the scorching heat is in its full glory. The sun comes up shortly after I do this time of year. My favorite thing to do is grab my bible, journal and a cup of coffee and sit out back with Annie while the sun rises. The birds are literally singing, the quail make more of a squawk like sound than a song but I love it. Occasionally, I will hear an owl on a neighboring rooftop or the party of a pack of coyotes in the distance celebrating their recent conquest. I’m always surprised that these sounds don’t faze Annie one bit. Make no mistake, if the trash truck or other large vehicle drives past our dividing wall she goes absolutely K-9, as if she’s military, saving us from being attacked. Bless her heart.
Spring typically comes early in Phoenix and is somewhat short lived. I often think we go from Winter to Summer with seemingly little time to wear any of the light weight sweaters I have hanging in my closet. Easter is typically too warm for chocolate eggs to be hidden outdoors. The seats in my car can heat up faster than my platinum flat iron causing any unshaven hair to singe off the backs of my legs. Arghhh, Summer’s a comin’. So, I cherish these spring mornings. I love all four of the seasons but I do think Spring is my favorite. Mostly, because of the new life Spring brings.
I remember when we moved to New England in the Summer. It was so green and beautiful. I smiled at the cashier at the store when he made small talk with me stating, “It’s a Scorecha out thair”. It couldn’t have been more than eighty five degrees. Being from Arizona, I was thinking to myself “Buddy you have no idea what a “ Scorecha” is.” Fall came fast and it was hands down the most incredible season in Boston with all of the turning of the leaves. It’s understandable why so many vacation to see the colors of the Fall. We had taken this opportunity to plant some bulbs. Something we hadn’t done in Phoenix. Daffodils are some of our favorites so in our typical fashion, we went to Lowes and bought a gigantic bag of what felt like fifty bulbs. We spent a greater part of the weekend planting them in the flower bed at the front of our house. I had the worst blister on my hand that day and I sulked because I couldn’t yet see the fruits of our hours of labor. I only saw the mulch, same as it was that morning. Winter came and covered the entire flower bed, all of the front yard for that matter; with a blanket of snow. In fact, that was a record year of snowfall for that area. We thought Spring would never come.
We had one snow storm after the next. The egg hunt at Easter was canceled at our church because of the snow covered ground in April! If and when the sun came out we gravitated to it like a dog does when it peeks through the window and casts out a small spot warming up the carpet.
The waiting period for Spring to come in seasons of our lives can feel like that too. Winters can be long and hard. Just when you think that you’ve shoveled the last bout of snow off your drive, it hits again. But there is purpose in the waiting. I once read a story about a cocoon that a man had. The moth was beginning to break out from its once caterpillar form. The man was so anxious for this moth that when he noticed it struggling to break out he grabbed some tiny tools and began snipping away at the cocoon thinking he needed to help the moth out. Sadly, when he finally got the string of the cocoon cut the moth plopped out with a fat body but with undeveloped wings. Turns out that the moth needed more time to grow in its cocoon to fully develop. The man’s assistance actually caused fatal harm to the moth.
Our Creator knows full well what we need to grow us in the likeness of His Son. We often want to rush the process. Much like the man with his tiny tools snipping away to speed things along or thinking God needs our help. When we do that we are left disappointed that we made an even bigger mess of things. He also knows exactly what we need and He will provide in His time. I can look back on my life and see where I wanted to rush things and yet thankfully things turned out even better than if I would have gotten what I wanted. I could have missed out on so much.
It was months later after planting those bulbs that I was out front with Annie and I noticed this little sprig of green popping out of the mulch in the flower bed. Next to it was another and as my eyes followed the row at the edge of the flowerbed I saw that those bulbs we had planted were peeking through the mulch. New life! They grew and displayed their beautiful yellow blooms and we enjoyed them so much. They were well worth the wait.
It’s hard in a world that rarely offers delayed gratification anymore. We have everything at our fingertips and disposal. But God never intended us to speed through this life and hurry to the next season. He has a purpose for each of us. It’s not to simply sit in our comfort but to share the life He offers. He offers new life in His Son, Jesus. A life that is full. Not absent of trials or heartache but of peace and hope in the midst of those trials. We have a choice. We can choose to follow Him, trusting Him for who He is and what He is doing in us. Or we can choose to do things our own way and risk missing all that He has to offer. He created us for Him. He wants us to spend eternity with Him, the alternative is a lot hotter than a summer in Phoenix ( through some days I wonder). He also has lessons for us to learn during all seasons of life while here on earth. He wants to use each season to grow us closer to Him, trusting Him more than our circumstances or turn of events. He knows at the right time the seasons will change ,the cocoons will break open sending moth or butterflies out with developed wings to fly. The bulbs will sprout at the right time revealing their vibrant colors and fragrance, offering themselves up to the bees to help spread more new life all around.
-Pressing On
“ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has dine from beginning to end”
-Ecclesiastes 3:11
Thank you. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful Connie!!! 💗💗💗
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