Spring Is Life

This afternoon, I am sitting in my kitchen. From my vantage point I can see the vibrant yellow of the Forsythia, the bright purple of the Red Buds and the light green of the newly forming leaves on trees I can't name. Two of my daughters are soaking up the fresh air and the vitamin D as they play with a neighbor friend.

Being in a new-to-us house, it is neat to see and wonder what perennial might pop up next in the gardens. A few I recognize - the hostas and hydrangea among the lilies.... There are others though, that I do not so readily identify. I could try to describe them to you, but I am sure that I could not do them justice.

I love being out there, digging up the weeds and brushing aside the last remnants of fall's leaves to reveal the tender shoot of something "new" sprouting in the dark, cool soil. It's too early for any humidity and the bugs still seem to be hibernating. The warmth of the sun on my face is like a balm to my soul after the cold, gray winter months stuck indoors.

My new issue of "Southern Living" came. Of course, their smart editors knew I wouldn't be the only one with the itch to play in the dirt. This month's edition is full of beautiful photos of fantastic flowers that I would need a degree in horticultural or Latin to be able to pronounce. I didn't need their help to feel inspired, but will definitely borrow a few of their ideas for my front porch pots. (Excuse me, I believe the proper term is "container garden"!)

It is everywhere in Spring. From the Buttercups to the Dogwoods and the Bradford Pear Trees to the smell of the first, freshly-mowed lawn of the season, seemingly overnight the Tennessee country side comes to life. All of nature heralds the season. Spring is here. Spring is alive.

Yesterday, decked in our Easter best, we looked like Spring. Bright dresses in floral prints the girls and I met their daddy at church. The pastor preached out of 1 John 5:11 -

"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

He accurately explained that this "eternal life" wasn't something that we would begin at death. No, our eternal life begins at our conversion. As John 10:10 says, that He came to give us an abundant life.

Like a Spring rain, this washed over my weary soul. I have been going through so many motions, and longing for His return, that I somehow forgot that my eternal life was an already reality, not something for me to wait for.

Yes, I need to do some weeding in my heart of some favorite, pet sins, and brush aside the accumulating debris of distractions blocking out the tender shoots God is cultivating inside of me. Just as the gardens outdoors need attention, so do I.

Spring is Life. It is outside my windows and inside my soul. Praise Him for the magnificence of His creation and how it points us to Him. Praise Him for this eternal life within the believer, within me.