Spring has Sprung!

WOW!
 We kept waiting for the snow to fall and nothing happened.
 All of a sudden we are enjoying 70 degree days, at least by mid-afternoon.
     The sun shimmers on golden buds.
           Birds chirp with delight.
 What a wonder!
 I linger at the window a little longer each morning and even venture outside to clean up the garden.

Yesterday, as we drove around the farmland that surrounds us, we discovered that Spring has sprung.  It's almost as if God drew His hand across the land and woke up dormant vegetation.
How glorious to see flowering bushes and trees that show their majestic age.  Growing old can't be all that bad if the bold buds on bushels of branches cause people to stop and take pictures.
 God's creation can be a real show stopper!

This patch of Forsythia must have taken MANY years
to expand.  The sunny glow invites us to linger for a while.

And then we have the new little bunch we planted, below . . .  so young and fragile looking.

The lovely little buds punch through the spring air and say to us, 

       "We can bloom just as nicely as that big ol' clump.  We just need a bit more time."
 Isn't that the story of our lives?
 We just need time to bloom as majestically as our elders.
If we simply linger a little longer in our journey with God, we will bloom more fully and gloriously as we age.

This Forsythia is from our little garden.
We planted it two years ago.  It will take
forever to look like the clump above but
we have all the time in the world.

 And then there is this grand dame.  Oh, what beauty!
 She has earned the right to outdo all the other trees in the neighborhood.   This Magnolia tree  has endured sixty years of who knows what.
 She endures the years to show us her strength of character.
As she stands tall she sends forth a scent that offers the bystander a moment of true bliss.  We linger a little longer as we drink in sweetness.

The owner of this gorgeous Magnolia was in the yard
when we stopped the car to take a picture. 

Our poor Daffodils kept popping up all winter, that was more
like Spring.  They are weak from trying so hard but the
Tulips are not far behind.  See the leaves?

It's that determination we see in the Daffodils that reminds me never to give up.  Keep 'popping up' when the weather seems right even if it is the wrong time of year.  It's sort of like our life journey.  We might pop into a situation that seems 'made for us' only to find out it was best to wait awhile.  The challenge is not to get tired of 'popping' up even if it is not yet the perfect time to bloom.  Determination is like that.

I decided to take a picture of our dogwood before it
begins to bloom.  I so love the bright red twigs when
they seem to "pop"  against the snow,
 which we did not have this year.

Oh to be a twig again, so slender, such a contrast compared to other growth.   All too soon this Dogwood will fill with soft green leaves edged in vanilla.  Unique all year, it stands out in all seasons.
              Oh to stand tall and to know we are growing exactly as God created us to grow.  Each of us is so unique.  We might as well enjoy the journey in all seasons, no matter what challenges confront us.

And so we move on.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
 May it all bring JOY to the soul.
Ahhhhh, early Spring.