Learning to Love Spring...

Rain, rain go away... as I look out the window at another gray, foggy, drippy day I am reminded that April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, although right now they only seem to be bringing mud, weeds and mold. I am not a Spring girl, I am a Fall/Winter girl. I like fuzzy clothes, warm blankets, big coats, hot cider, the smell of wood smoke in the air. I do not like mud puddles, humidity, dandelion flowers, and bugs. I have to struggle through Spring. I am not a spotless housekeeper so my Spring cleaning takes most of the season and by the time I finish, the things I started with usually need done again. I am not an experienced gardener, but living in a neighborhood with small yards and very neat neighbors insures that I do my part to keep weeds pulled, flowers pruned and mulch fresh. I have grumbled for the past several weeks about allergies, and pollen and hotness, and sweat, and then I see posts on Facebook about Cicada's...ewww! Grumble, grumble, I hate Spring, but then this morning I opened my Bible randomly (which I do sometimes) just let it open to a page and began to read...
Song of Solomon 2: 11-13
See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
Yes, God has His own ways of speaking to us if we are listening, don't ever doubt that He works in mysterious ways. I am not sure I have ever even really read Song of Solomon...ever! When I read this passage I got the most beautiful picture in my head of birds chirping and trees blooming out and of course it is hard to grumble at a love story... God created seasons and He did it for a reason, everything has a purpose. God is intentional. Instead of complaining and counting down the weeks until what I like comes back around, I need to focus on what God wants me to see right now, in this season. I need to learn to love Spring.
North Carolina has four very distinct seasons. We are lucky to live in a place that experiences each season separately. Living in the mountains, they are even more unique and I have learned to appreciate Spring a little more since living here.  There is a reason that Winter is not the peak tourist season in the NC mountain region. Yes, the mountains are beautiful when they are covered in a bright white, pure, snowfall and you are skiing down the slopes, but just day to day Winter without the blanket of white is drab to say the least. The mountains loom up all around you into the horizon, dark and gray. The wind is brutal and the cold is never ending. The fog is daily, it rolls in like a blanket at night and hangs out until mid-morning, everyday! Gray and thick. The trees are barren and all of a sudden you see houses and shacks and caves that you never knew were there. ( the old saying the hills have eyes is true, you don't know all the people hiding in the hills until the leaves drop off  the trees) The roads are covered in salt and sand, the rocks are wet and dripping and everything is dead, which makes the switch to Spring that much more amazing. Just in the last couple of weeks, the flowers have bloomed out, the trees are covered in blossoms and birds are everywhere. There are lots of flowering trees in the mountains, purple and white, dogwoods and cherry. We wake up to a constant chirping song, birds are everywhere. The mountains begin to fill out and become lush and green again. The girls begin to bring me beautiful purple blossoms and it is even hard to grumble about the Dandelions I hate when they are being tucked behind my ear with a kiss on the cheek from one of my girls. I love to plant vegetables and fruit so Spring comes with the smell of fresh tilled earth and the promise of homegrown food on our table and grill. Warm weather means trips to the park and picnics in the grass, rocking on the front porch and neighbors waving Hi and stopping to chat. Here in the south, warm weather brings out flip flops and jugs of sweet tea, it means a time of refreshing... "He makes all things new". God uses Spring to remind me that after the dead of Winter comes the newness of life. The girls marvel at the newborn calves at the farm on the way to school and try and peek into the nests that pop up in our trees. Even on a rainy day like today I am reminded that life moves on and springs forth, that all things are fresh again. In the midst of chaos and the evil of sin and death that surround us on this Earth, God reminds me that in Him all things are made new, His love never fails, and with new life and a new season, comes hope!