The last few days have been in the place of ‘almost but not quite’. Driving across the rivers as I do so many times during a day, the trees are putting forth not quite green and not quite yellow as they work to produce the fullness of their leaves. Walking through my garden, the hostas have pushed their way through the ground, long spiky shoots make circles of what in just a few weeks will be fully formed, lush leaves. Other ground cover has peeked through the soil and is beginning to inch out, ready to spread in its usual way, creeping around all in its path.
Of course the tulips have had a head start. They have been slumbering in the dark, cold ground and now stand in their fullness, showing off their colors while their botanical siblings are stretching to become themselves. The crab apple trees outside my office window are trying so desperately to be hot pink….and soon they will be. In the next few days the branches will be heavy with shades of red, pink and fuchsia waving gently in the spring breezes, sending their sweet scent into the wind. It is a glorious sight.
It is a time of year when one can become so acutely aware of what it means to be alive, to be a part of something much bigger than our human-ness, to literally watch the world come into its fullness. It is the time of year that begs us to become children again, stopping at each next interesting thing to see. This brilliant bud….this lovely leaf….this mossy mound. Why, it could take hours to walk one block!
The ‘almost but not quite ‘ part of spring invites us to pay attention…with a capital P & A. If we don’t we will miss its unfolding and that would be a terrible shame. Because we all know that it doesn’t last long and its gentle beauty is meant to remind us of who we are…….the ones with words, the ones given to experiencing awe, the ones who can proclaim their praise. We have important work to do and now is the moment.
Go ahead….get out there….do what needs to be done!
"All you works of God, every mountain, star and tree,
bless the One who shapes your beauty,
who has caused you all to be one great song of love and grace,
ever ancient,ever new.
Raise your voices, all you works of God." (by Marty Haugen)