Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
I like the optimism that seems to be a natural part of spring. Certainly it is much less reserved than the understatedness we find captured in the winter months. And while it may not flaunt the saturated richness that is part of summer or the mature abundance that is autumn, I still would find it difficult to exchange spring for any other season. And I believe the reason for this is the promise of the “yet to be.” Nature writer and naturalist, Edwin Way Teale, captured this sentiment in one of his books I have on my shelf entitled North with Spring where he wrote “All things seem possible in May.”
Buds swell with the promise of regeneration from seemingly lifeless limbs. From unpromising
clay emerges long-hidden shoots buried for an extended period of time yet appearing without the slightest fanfare. Even the birds seem to remember songs we thought they had forgotten since we ourselves had to re-learn to recognize them all over again.
I can’t completely agree with Victor Hugo’s remark “If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.” (Les Misérables) for I find other reasons to revel in the vernal season. One of those for which I am grateful is the reminder that it was spring when Christ rose from the tomb some 2000 plus years ago as an act of His love. New buds and fresh shoots prompt me to remember the promise of a new life if one is hidden in the One who rose again that spring morning.