I’m a sucker for spring. My husband is as well.
We drive around town and into the country, oohing and ahhing at the lush brilliance of the fresh grass, at the gentle greens of certain trees – so soft that they’re actually grayish, and the whites and yellows and pinks and purples of seemingly infinite flowers and buds.
We walk in the park. We watch the sunset in the air that’s now tinged with that special signature of spring.
And I post photos on Facebook of spirea (both close up and distant), azaleas (one with Mama and Papa azalea as well as baby Bud), towering oaks with huge, brawny branches just made for a swing (maybe our church leaders will get the hint about what’s available in our back lot), a petite row of dewberry blossoms intermingled with our shrubbery (or are they blackberries?).
My sister says we probably got our appreciation of nature from our mother. I just wish I had inherited her green thumb as well. Sister has one, and so did Daddy. Me, I haven’t ever even repotted an ivy plant that I received as a gift 20-plus years ago, but it manages to hang on despite there being virtually no soil left. (Say, because it’s still alive under such adverse conditions, maybe I do have a green thumb after all. Maybe I just don’t use it!)
I professed in an earlier column that I really can never decide which I like better – spring or fall. The season that’s actually occurring always seems to influence my answer. But, truthfully, I think spring is the ultimate winner.
How can I not side with the time of year that brings to mind refreshing, renewal and rebirth? Is it any wonder that the ultimate triumph in history thus far – Jesus’ resurrection – also begins with the letters “re” and that we celebrate this event of events in the spring? All of those words are so inter-related.
As an aside, “re” actually means “again” in Latin, and “surgere” means “to rise.”
So in these days that are sandwiched between winter’s icy grip and summer’s heated breath, we revel in possibilities. We dream of things to come. If not immediate, then in the future. We dream of rejuvenation.
Of course, I realize that spring’s conflicting weather patterns – warm one day, cold the next – can also bring forth times of turbulence and terror, such as the recent outbreak of tornadoes. And my heart goes out to those who suffer such catastrophes.
With spring, however, hope does spring eternal. After the darkest of Good Fridays comes glorious Sunday. God always offers hope.
As we shake off the winter chill, let’s consider some Bible verses about spring that present the possibility of new beginnings.
“For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land” – Song of Solomon 2:11-12.
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy” – Isaiah 35:1-12.
“They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain” – Job 29:23.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” – Acts 3:19.
So whether it’s a long, leisurely walk on a sunny day or splashing through puddles after a sudden shower, let’s soak up spring’s blessings. With God’s guidance, let’s allow this new season to bring to life something new within us.
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Memory verse: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” – Psalm 51:10.
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
