Thank Heavens for Spring!

I took a walk today for the first time in weeks.  What prompted this little jaunt you ask?  (Ok, maybe you don’t really care, but I’m going to tell you anyway. )  The sun came out today after weeks of fog, smog, freezing cold and snowy storms.  The first whisper of Spring drifted through the air.  Instead of bundling up and feeling the cold every time I walked outside, I could feel a breath of warmth today.

Tendrils of spring through the frozen snow

After Christmas is over, I tend to become like a bear and hibernate until the temperature peeks above 50 degrees.  I don’t like winter.  As a child, I loved to play in the snow, but as an adult, I will take rain over snow any day.  I appreciate the picturesque snow right up until Christmas, but on December 26th, I begin to yearn for spring.  This winter has been harder than most.  I remember on Saturday wishing I could just get in my car and drive south just to see some sunshine!   The Februwearies have been hard at work on me this year.

But fortunately, Spring peeked it’s head out today.  The snow was melting and green tendrils of wild grass were pushing up through the soggy, brown leaves.  The pigeons were out in number flocking past me as I startled them, the swollen stream rushed happily by and the sound of children’s laughter and shouts surged through the air from a nearby hill. Families on bikes and joggers passed me as I ambled along the wet path.

It seemed almost as if the world was coming outside again to greet the return of nature’s version of hope. There are no flowers yet and most of the grass is brown and muddy, but the rays of the sun caressed my cheeks and I felt that unspoken joy that comes when you feel the burdens of a long trial begin to lift.

And that is my favorite part of Spring…the reminder that at the end of a long, dark trial, there is light.  I’ve found that if I can just hold on long enough, and push through the gloomy days, the promised light returns.  I lift my eyes to the skies and my soul is renewed.

Finding that light in our lives can often feel like a never-ending struggle, but for today, I held out my hand and nature took it and squeezed in return.