Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Signs of Life

These pictures are from my yard. Right now, today, this is what spring looks like:

Some things look dead, really dead. Honestly, when something looks that dead, you should just give up, shouldn't you? Actually, this bush was severely pruned in the fall. It will recover. It has life, but it's just not able to show it right now.
And some plants are slower than others. Take this flowering quince, for example. It's hesitant to burst open. Give it a few days. All its energy is tightly bound up in those little balls, and it's just NOT as free and easy as, say, the crocus, but it is abiding by its own schedule, and it will flower in its own time.

Same with the camellia, except these little guys have waited all winter to bloom. Ideally, they should have been in their glory a month or more ago, but the winter was deep and cold, and the camellia fought valiantly to sustain these blooms, in limbo, waiting for warmer days. Sometimes the trials of life keep us from blooming as we'd like.
These happy faces met me this morning as I exited the house. Don't they exude happiness and brilliance?
The crocuses will be the first to wither, and then these daffodils, but for now, they shout forth spring, sunshine and glory.
The pussy willows are early as well. This tree rests next to Julia's monkey bars, and she sits atop the bars and strokes the pussy willow fur.
This one is her favorite, and she even gave him a name.
As we look at each other in our walks of faith, we should bear in mind that each of us is at a different stage, and we don't all show the same "signs of life." Grace toward each other includes allowing others to be at the stage of glory that God has allotted at that time.

1 comment:

Glen said...

Thank you for sharing this post, MK. It reminds me to be thankful to those who encouraged my growth up to this point, and to be mindful of encouraging others who cross my path.