Each season is special in its own way and carries a unique beauty all its own, but Spring elevates wonder to new heights. Spring is creative in her reintroduction to the world every year. She might announce her coming when you peacefully plod along an East Texas farm-to-market and notice that your vehicle is parting a collection of yellow-green pollen that has accumulated from the native trees. One might take notice of Spring and celebrate her arrival with a trip down to the Hill Country to view the Bluebonnets mixed with paint brushes. How could anyone miss the majesty of dozens of varied species of trees as their young leaves take form in a kaleidoscope of greens varied from blond green to olive, forest and emerald?
The eyes tell the story for most of us and I am not totally excluded from that group, however, there is a strong sense announcing spring for me – aromas. As a life long runner, walker, bike rider, and outdoorsman, Spring announces herself to me with her unique perfume. While families may know where the best Bluebonnet fields are to take their small children and resistant teenagers and immerse them in a blanket of blue, I know where the best fields of blue are due to their majestic redolence. When a north wind blows the aroma of an indigo field to the south road, the sweet smell of Bluebonnet is unmistakable. Did you know that red-tip photinias have a very distinct smell? They are not very impressive plants except that they grow to great height and provide good barriers. Their blooms are not drastically eye-catching, yet when they get their white haze in the early Spring, the lusciousness of the scent is worthy of pedaling slowly and enjoying the moment. Honey-suckle is another experience altogether. There is not much better than rolling down a country road and finding an old barbed-wire fence with leaning cedar posts supporting hundreds of yards of this beautiful flower containing sweet nectar. I will not even visit the joys of discovering Wisteria, Lemon verbena, Gardenias, Sweet Olive, Jasmine, Mint, Sage and so many more. It is the bouquets of Spring that draw my eyes upward to the beauties of the season. I am a springtime olfactory respondent.
No matter how Spring gets your attention, she is benefactress of special instruction concerning life. Spring invites us to slow down and smell the roses. We are reminded that in simplicity there is instruction. Contentment and joy can be rediscovered while sitting underneath a pecan tree surrounded by the purple blooms of clover, listening to the song of mockingbirds while watching cardinal couples flit about looking for a snack.
In Spring we are offered a regenerated sense of hope. We are reminded that among trees that look dead, bushes that have no blooms, and temperatures that drive us inside there is always the promise that seasons change. What looked dead was masking the reality of life waiting to give proof of its existence. Life was never gone, the season just appeared that way. Life has a way of rejuvenating itself. Love can be rekindled. Joy can be reclaimed. Loss can be overcome. Expectations can be fulfilled. God always has a plan, and your life is in the center of that plan. He did not leave with the leaves when chill winds began to blow.
Spring reminds us that things always change, and life follows a cycle. If the Summer heat is too oppressive, we know that Fall freshness is coming. If the thunderstorms of Spring and the hurricanes of Summer strike fear in your soul, be assured that the dog days of Summer will bring little moisture and fewer storms and early Winter will put an end to the typhoons. Just like the seasons of the year come and go, the seasons of life do the same. What worries us today will not be issues after a few tomorrows. The years of one’s life pass as quickly as petals falling off a rose. Spring offers an opportunity to learn wisdom:
“But meanwhile, time flies; it flies never to be regained.” ~ Virgil
She offers us the sagacity to stop and enjoy each and every moment. To soak up love and relationships and even appreciate the insight that only pain brings. And Spring gives us the chance to move through each season of the year and each chapter of life with joy, appreciation and grace.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1
