New Growth
New Growth
It is spring! Finally!!! Yay! I love the springtime. Where I live - spring has been teasing us. We have endured beautiful 70 degree week days and then a weekend with snow flurries. The temperature has gone back and forth from 40 to 70 to 40 to 70 for weeks now. But today…it is actually in the 80’s and it is a beautiful day! Spring is such a stunning time of year. We go from the deadness of the cold hard winter to the rebirth and life giving newness that springtime brings forth. It is a season full of new growth.
This morning I awoke in a room overlooking the Tennessee River. I walked out on my balcony and listened to the birds singing a sweet melody. I grabbed my tennis shoes, t-shirt and pulled on a pair of shorts. It was just too beautiful a day to not enjoy it. I began to walk through the State Park and breathe in the fresh air. I watched as the squirrels frolicked and played paying no attention to me. I saw the new growth on the shrubs, trees, and vines as I walked past. I drank in the tranquility of the calm water that flowed so effortlessly. I watched a duck swim and dip its head into the water. Then I noticed another duck sitting on the bank. I remembered my husband and I had recently observed this same thing with geese. He explained that they were nesting. The mom and dad take turns until the eggs are ready to hatch. Oh, baby ducks are coming soon, I thought. I looked up at the beautiful sky that reminded me of a perfect painting. All around me – everywhere I looked – I saw new life – new growth.
It was such a sweet time to talk with God. As we talked about His glorious creation – I wondered how people could not believe in Him. Do they really think all of this just happened? We talked about the deadness of winter and the beauty of spring. I thanked Him for this perfect picture – illustration – of a life without Christ and a life that has accepted Him as their savior. Without Him our life is null and void. We are dead with no hope. But with Him we have springtime. There is new life and new growth. There is beauty and hope – even in the hard times. I realized that no matter where we are in our relationship with Christ – we can still have new growth. I prayed and told God – I want new growth. I want to know You more. I want to give You more. I want to become more of who You are calling me to be.
As I prayed this prayer I topped a hill. There right smack dab in front of me was a cemetery. Now I realize that this cemetery has been there for years. But the irony of walking up on it in the midst of the prayer I was praying was not lost on me. I chuckled and continued my conversation with God. You see we are all leaving this place at some point. This life is just temporary. This is not my home. I thought about the tears that are poured out as people are laid to rest. But it is a joyous time for Christians. It is the beginning of our eternity with Christ. I hope that my family will rejoice for me when I am gone. Miss me? Sure. But rejoice in the certainty that I will be standing in the presence of the One who gave His life for me. I will be singing and dancing and praising Him forevermore. Whew! That stirs up my emotions just thinking about that.
Then we – God and I - talked about how many of us walk around dying and not really living. We are so caught up in our flesh that we become distracted from living the life we were created to live. We talked about daily actions that bring about death and daily actions that bring about life. I made a mental list of the things that matter and the things that take my time but really do not matter at all. I realized that Satan doesn’t have to make me bad to win. He only has to keep me distracted – stop me from focusing on what God has for me. I remembered the scripture in Proverbs that says, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” I was reminded of the power of my words. I asked God to help me speak life into the lives of my husband, my children, grandchildren and everyone who crosses my path. It was eye opening to list what I can do to bring about life. How can I be sure my days here matter – count for His glory? It is so refreshing to spend time with God. He never condemns me – never taunts me with my failures. He only encourages me – renews me – refreshes me – redirects me.
So, here we are at the beginning of springtime. Let’s be like the seasons. Let’s let the things in our life that are not glorifying to God die away like the winter. Today is a good day to choose life – God ordained life. We can put Him first and foremost in our life. Living for Him will cause new growth to sprout through – just like the spring. We can be new. We can be different. We can be beautiful – just like He created us to be. Oh, God – I so desperately want to live for You. I want to experience new growth – life giving – life inspiring – growth. Help me live out the purpose you have for me. Let me burst forth and bloom and bear fruit for You.
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:11-12