Welcome Spring!

Crocus © K. Hall

Spring has arrived! Warm sunshine. Green grass. Crocuses. Gentle breezes. Soft earth that yields to the weight of bare feet.

But wait. God is not quite done with winter. He still has some batter in the bottom of his great mixing bowl that he scrapes out and drops down upon the New England landscape. More cold. Snow. Lots of slush. Biting winds. Oh, and here’s some overnight temperatures that freeze the ground again.

My attitude needs some adjusting in regards to the combination these season-ings, as I am just not really enjoying the melding of the two. It’s like I had my heart set on chocolate, and I bit into anchovies. Ewww. 

What does it all actually look like? Well....

We have side roads like this.

 And they change to this.

And downtowns like this. At noon.
When the spring sun is supposed to be shining.

And this poor guy. Standing out in the fresh air, thinking the corner has been turned, really looking forward to contentedly chewing on some of that tender new growth, only to get right in the middle of the seasonal mix-up, wondering to himself what the heck happened...
I would say he is blue at the prospect of missing his spring salad mix...

How are you handling your seasons of change?

Willing to Change

I attended a seminar years ago, and the instructor said something that has stayed with me. It was so simple, yet so profound. He said, “Change your point of view and you will change your life.” I have been blessed to apply this straightforward axiom to my life, and to ultimately enjoy and embrace change.

Very often, when we are disappointed in or dissatisfied with our lives, we tend to strike out at and blame those we love. If our spouse would only be more thoughtful, we wouldn’t nag as much. If our kids would do their chores, we wouldn’t be hollering at them. If our boss treated us better, we would be more productive at work. It just is never our fault.

Take a few steps off that well-worn path to see things from a different perspective. Take some time, and replay some of those conflicts in your head, and watch yourself in action. Ouch. It really isn’t very pretty, and you’ll be tempted to turn that movie off. Hopefully, instead, you will make some observations and take action towards making positive change.

Take note that I am not suggesting here that the solution is to send your entire family to obedience school. (Be honest-Don't you secretly wish that you could do that?) Do not fall back on that tired excuse again that if everyone else changed, then you would be happier. If everyone else did exactly what you wanted, wouldn’t that make this world the most peachy-keen place ever? Of course it would, but that is just not going to happen. So, come back from fantasy land, and start thinking about how you can make a change for the better. Yes, you.

Take a look, do some thinking, spend some time in prayer. Take steps-they don’t have to be giant ones-towards being the kind of person you would like to be, more of the time. Every day is a fresh start, and speaking for myself, an opportunity to be a better, wiser, and more humble person.

I encourage you to move your feet today to see what you have been missing.