Today I was encouraged by a reading from the Song of Songs: Arise, my beloved...see, the winter is past,the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth... Now, I admit, my encouragement is totally natural...the thought of spring, of blossoms, of trees budding and plants bursting forth at this time of year just heartens me! And I know I'm not alone in this!
A friend told me recently how she learned about nature early in childhood. And as she grew older, she took lessons she'd learned and applied it to her life. She remembered when things were tough that winter always gives way to spring and summer. She took hints from her travels through the woods, her learning to pay attention to not only what was ahead, but the path she came from, and applied it to her spiritual journey. And, she said, she is encouraged at the remembrance that the many birds, small and simple as they are, all had their part to play in nature.
Nature can teach us so many things. It can remind us that our spiritual journey is not so different than our walk through the woods. It can remind us through a myriad of images of God's goodness, grace, the fleeting moments we have, and hope for change. It's there for us. We must make use of these gifts.
Julia Verhaeghe writes: Everything is simple in Christ, our friend and brother. Yet, how inclined we are to make the simplest things difficult and complicated.
Sounds like the choice is ours.
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