Spring Green

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~e.e. cummings

What do you look for in spring? Do you watch for dogwoods, the return of a certain bird, azaleas blooming? What is it about spring that makes you thank God?

I didn't realize, until the paint was on the wall, that the color I picked out for my redone laundry room is the same color as new leaves appearing on the deciduous trees in our area. There is something about that color that gets me every spring. Maybe because it appears on those dark limbs which had been bare all winter. Maybe because the color itself is so fleeting before the leaves turn darker as they manufacture more and more chlorophyll. Whatever the reason, I always look to those spring-dressed trees and say "I thank you God for this most amazing day."

I thank e.e. cummings for giving words to my praise. His poetry has always been a favorite of mine due to its style and whimsy. This particular work of his always lifts me up and makes me think about the God who is the Artist, the Fanciful One, the God of Good Humor and Beauty. With the past year of drought, it has been amazing that this spring is one of the most beautiful in recent memory. I find myself driving through subdivisions just to look at the tulips, dogwoods, redbud, hyacinths, and azaleas. Such a metaphor for times in our lives when we are dry, parched souls, and still beauty arises in our days. And again, I say, "I thank you God for this most amazing day."

My prayer for my friends, my family, myself: May we see the Spring in our own lives. May our bare spots be cloaked in the "leaping greenly spirit" of nature. May we will see the infinite nature of God, give thanks and let out a soul-stirring, "YES!" as our fists pump the air. Amen.