The Promise of Spring

Ah, Spring! What a wonderful time of year. Trees budding, flowers opening, sun shining.

No – wait – that’s not Spring where I live!

(or much of the Eastern United States this year either) March is historically the snowiest month here in Colorado, followed by April. And, if last year’s Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference in Estes Park is any indication, May is near the top as well. Snow started falling the first afternoon, and we had 42 inches by morning!

But let’s look at the ideal of Spring: Flowers. Sunshine. Warm days. Breezes through the trees. The world coming to life.

Many times we get so accustomed to the beauty around us that we stop noticing it and appreciating it. We see only the things that don’t measure up to our standards of perfection and complain about them. Like hearing a squirrel trying to make a nest in my chimney. Or seeing the trees over my deck weighed down with wet snow on new leaves, threatening to break off their branches.

How about, instead of seeing the bad, we focus on the good?

Wake up in the morning, and say, “Good morning, Lord,” instead of, “Good Lord, it’s morning!”

Be thankful that we can see the sunrise, even if we wish we could sleep later.

Smile when we see children playing in the neighborhood instead of yelling at them, “Git offa my lawn!”

Inhale the aroma of freshly-mown grass instead of dreading the time we’ll have to get out there and do the same in our yards. (You could do like me and move into a townhouse where the HOA takes care of the lawn, so you don’t have to mow or water. It’s heavenly!)

My husband and I used to go out to eat once or twice a week. I enjoyed it a lot, except when he found something to complain about. Strange – he didn’t do that while we were dating. I accused him of bait-and-switch, but he just smiled.

I put up with his complaints for a while after we were married, then I told him I didn’t want to go out with him anymore. He was shocked and couldn’t understand that his finding fault in a small portion of the meal took all the joy out of the rest of the evening.

Thankfully, he honored my request and stopped complaining. It surprised him that he started enjoying our dates more. (Didn’t surprise me.)

Same thing can happen with Spring when we stop complaining. New life raising its head gives us the chance to see the earth waking with colors and scents that have been hidden for months.

Let’s look for the good in Spring. And for the good in others, too.

All too often, we see an imperfection and focus on that instead of noticing a person in need of our love and appreciation.

So whether it’s a flower or a neighbor, how about if we smile at them and share a little bit of God’s unconditional love? It might just give us a little Spring in our steps (pun intended).