The Hope and Promise of Spring

 

Tomorrow marks the first day of Spring! 

Although I have always appreciated the coming of Spring, there is something about the change of season that is special to me this year. As with many parts of the country, the last part of winter was particularly difficult and in many ways a struggle. During the last snowstorm, I was able to acknowledge that there are lessons to be learned from each season.  As we welcome Spring, I am aware of the hope and promise of Spring and that nature provides us with evidence of hope and promises. 

The fall that we moved into our current home, I planted over 100 bulbs consisting of daffodils, tulips and hyacinth. It was not an easy task as we have clay soil and it was a wet fall. However, I made it through by imagining the beauty of the green stems bursting through the ground. Just as I hoped, the beauty of the stems and the blooms warmed me and reminded me of the cycle of life. Over the course of the past few years most of bulbs continue to bloom.

These same stems continue to burst through my backyard today. Despite the fact that I did not layer with new mulch last fall, they made it through the craziness of our winter. They are survivors. The hyacinth are displaying a beautiful purple flower that will soon be in full bloom and the daffodils are presenting bulbs which will soon burst open with a glorious yellow.

The last spring I paid significant attention to was the spring of our pregnancy. I remember attaching the metaphor of the new life in nature to the new life we were creating with our IVF treatment. Our pregnancy coincided with the bursting forth of blooms. Sadly, just as all of the spring flowers began to die and summer approached the miscarriage occurred. I truly haven’t given much thought to the changes of the seasons in my life after that. As I have shared, the miscarriage was followed by the deaths of my Mom and Grandmother.

Just as flowers often go dormant, I realize that my grief placed me in my own form of dormancy. Plants typically go dormant during adverse growing conditions. They stop growing and conserve energy until the conditions are appropriate to grow again. Yet, during this time work is being done that can not be seen.

I’ve shared over the past few months that I am experiencing many new beginnings in my life and as Spring bursts forth around me, I feel the hope of renewal, regeneration and the ability to start over. This is the promise that we are each given.

Our lives are very much like the seasons found in nature. Everything must come to an end but with each ending we are also promised the beginning of a new start. Currently for me, I feel as if my new start is coinciding with the start of a new season. I am hopeful for what may lay ahead for me. It can be difficult when your personal seasons do not coincide with the seasons of nature. For the past few years, I have struggled with the ambiguity of being out of step with nature.

Take some time this spring to observe the hope and promise of new life around you.  

Consider what season your own life may be and acknowledge that whatever season you find yourself, it is necessary for your own personal growth. 

Happy Spring!!! 

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