There’s something about the beginning of spring that awakens so much in me.  I can hardly contain myself when I see those wee buds beginning to swell on the branches!  I love taking cuttings of the different branches with our kids, talking abut what we might find when we keep them in water for a few weeks.  Will it become a blossom, or a leaf?  Big or small?  What colour? We bring them inside, with each sprig placed in its own little jar.  And we watch, and wait, and watch some more.

Those branches that burst into bloom, having looked so barren only weeks before is nothing short of miraculous beauty, every time. Green shoots poking up through the ground also speak of new life…emerging.

And I find myself emerging too…

Allowing the ideas and dreams to peek out that have been tucked away, dormant and percolating all winter; perhaps longer.

There’s nothing like the pure delight in observing what already is- and what will be. We know what’s coming… and there’s an ease in that.

We know those swelling buds and tiny shoots are evidence.  Proof of what is to come.  All we need to do is sit back, watch, and at times, protect those little ones…becoming what they are already destined to be.

As we celebrate the green of spring and newness of the season..let’s take a little time to celebrate the growth around us, in my kids and in my home.  This isn’t about puffing ourselves up or putting on some airs to make us “feel” better.  If anything, we as women are way too hard on ourselves, and don’t often invest much time or energy to acknowledge the authentic growth that is happening in our lives.

Hurray! I hung some pictures on the wall that I have been meaning to do, literally, for years!

I sorted some paper piles and put them in order: a job that needs to be done, but often gets left to the bottom of the list.

I painted with my kids, read good books and played on the trampoline. I made a few really good meals, among the many ordinary ones; we made it through some weeks of tummy bugs and colds relatively unharmed; I enjoyed tea and visits with my teens.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the things on the list that didn’t get done.  Instead, I choose to look at progress.  The times we laughed hard, the kids that are thriving in their childhood,  the photos I did take.

Because those little green sprouts and budding trees are the living declaration of what is to come.  And that brings hope!

What sprouts can you celebrate this week?  Take some time, even daily- to write down the “small things” you have done, the movements in the right direction, the tasks that have produced joy and satisfaction.  No matter how seemingly small!

And share with us- we would love to cheer you on.
…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5