Summer WILL come!
Songbird over at Rev Gal Blog Pals shares today's lovely Friday Five.
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now 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. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13
In the late, late winter, as the snow begins to recede here in Maine, we begin to look almost desperately for signs of spring, signs of hope that the weather has turned and a new day is on the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter and Spring twine inextricably, the crocuses and daffodils peeking through the Earth as we await the risen Christ.
Share with us five signs of hope that you can see today or have experienced in the past.
Songbird is in Maine, and I am in Wisconsin, so I understand what she means about searching for those signs of spring. Just see my poem a couple of posts down! There are no leaves on the trees yet, and the grass (which still has patches of snow) is brown and crisp. Actually, right now it is covered with a heavy frost so looks grey. And certainly no flowers. It was 0 degrees just a week ago, and I'm talking F. not C. Considering all this, even though I only have a few minutes before leaving for an appointment, I couldn't resist playing today--even if it is short.
1. Open water. Hooray! The stream behind our house is running along, and the nearby lakes are thawing.
2. Over at Jubilee Church, there are shoots of daffodils and tulips poking up above the ground in a little flower bed under the office window. I will have to drive over there in a month or so just to look at them. As the snow melted last week the green shoots were already poking through. If they can do it, I can too.
3. Robins! No one who has not lived in snowy country can comprehend the lift that the sight of the first robins can bring to the heart! Poor little things--I am afraid that their little feets may freeze right to the ground, but they do not seem concerned.
4. Cardinal song. Another early harbinger of spring is the characteristic chee chee chee of the male cardinal as he defends his territory. I know he is being feisty, but to me it just sounds cheery.
5. It has not yet happened, but any day now I am going to see the first tiny signs of buds on the pussy willow bush by the deck. It is a messy thing in the summer, and it requires constant pruning in order to not take over the deck, but there is no way I'm removing it. It is too wonderful to see those brave little buds pushing up through a coat of ice on the branch.
Yep, if they can do it, I can too. Just this morning I was wondering what a person does when absolutely nothing seems to be what I thought it was even a short while ago. And nothing feels stable, and all is awry. Perhaps the answer is simply to be, and to wait in hope for the Creator to make all things new once again.
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now 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. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13
In the late, late winter, as the snow begins to recede here in Maine, we begin to look almost desperately for signs of spring, signs of hope that the weather has turned and a new day is on the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter and Spring twine inextricably, the crocuses and daffodils peeking through the Earth as we await the risen Christ.
Share with us five signs of hope that you can see today or have experienced in the past.
Songbird is in Maine, and I am in Wisconsin, so I understand what she means about searching for those signs of spring. Just see my poem a couple of posts down! There are no leaves on the trees yet, and the grass (which still has patches of snow) is brown and crisp. Actually, right now it is covered with a heavy frost so looks grey. And certainly no flowers. It was 0 degrees just a week ago, and I'm talking F. not C. Considering all this, even though I only have a few minutes before leaving for an appointment, I couldn't resist playing today--even if it is short.
1. Open water. Hooray! The stream behind our house is running along, and the nearby lakes are thawing.
2. Over at Jubilee Church, there are shoots of daffodils and tulips poking up above the ground in a little flower bed under the office window. I will have to drive over there in a month or so just to look at them. As the snow melted last week the green shoots were already poking through. If they can do it, I can too.
3. Robins! No one who has not lived in snowy country can comprehend the lift that the sight of the first robins can bring to the heart! Poor little things--I am afraid that their little feets may freeze right to the ground, but they do not seem concerned.
4. Cardinal song. Another early harbinger of spring is the characteristic chee chee chee of the male cardinal as he defends his territory. I know he is being feisty, but to me it just sounds cheery.
5. It has not yet happened, but any day now I am going to see the first tiny signs of buds on the pussy willow bush by the deck. It is a messy thing in the summer, and it requires constant pruning in order to not take over the deck, but there is no way I'm removing it. It is too wonderful to see those brave little buds pushing up through a coat of ice on the branch.
Yep, if they can do it, I can too. Just this morning I was wondering what a person does when absolutely nothing seems to be what I thought it was even a short while ago. And nothing feels stable, and all is awry. Perhaps the answer is simply to be, and to wait in hope for the Creator to make all things new once again.
5 comments:
Love your new picture and descriptions of spring and spring to come. We are, of course, behind you in the changes. But surprisingly, when the snow has melted off the paths, there is green grass underneath. I also have Sweet Williams in my garden. For some reason, when the snow melts, last years leaves are still green.
I hear you. "nothing seems to be what I thought it was." Spring is coming just in time.
I am forcing forsythia at church. We've had the bare branches in a vase on the worship center, but this week there will be flowers!
Love daffodils...they shout "spring is here".
Sometimes I feel like God has plunked the sharp cut edges of my spirit into a jar of water, set me in the light, and bid me bloom...even when my sap is slowed and the heartwood cries, "not ready!"
Thank you for this post. I appreciate it.
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