dafodils and crocus blooming

He said to me, “Count up for me those who have not yet come, and gather for me the scattered raindrops, and make the withered flowers bloom again for me.

2 Esdras 5:36

It’s a very cold day in January as I write this essay. Not spring like in the picture you see with the flowers blooming. But new growth can’t help but keep coming! Just outside my window daffodils are prematurely poking their green leaves up to take a look around.  But new growth is everywhere! New friends, homes, jobs, babies, birds, opportunities, dreams, cures, hopes, loves. Well, the list is endless!!

When I was a little girl, I remember Easter as a time when the ladies of the church wore corsages. Most people looked like they had new dresses on and especially had new shoes. At least they were patented leather and very shiny.  I would get a new dress and, on several occasions, received a real live baby chick, dyed to match my dress, from the Easter bunny. I guess “new things” is what I associated with Easter.

Well, I have developed a bit in my spiritual understanding since the baby chick days.  I still look at this photo of daffodils and crocus and think of newness.  But now I think of where this “newness” comes from; I stop and am thankful for it; and I try to slow up and even look for new things! I rarely miss a chance to go down a garden path!! 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Yes, God has given us our spring, our newness, & our fresh starts!  We don’t have to wait for Easter to feel a new freshness, better than any new outfit.  Jesus’ resurrection has provided us with a clean slate and every day can be a new great day for us! 

Bonnie Andrews

a yellow daffodil