Some thoughts on Spring.... in Autumn

"As I look back on the seaons of my life, especially the babyhood years, I wish I had been more able to rejoice in them.  I wish I had taken more time to see the pleasure of little children delighting in the simple beauties of life.  There are so many amazing discoveries a child will make simply by being at home with his or her parents - exploring his world, pretending, playing with playdough, swinging on a swing, tinkering with simple toys, playing instruments and singing, listening for hours to books while cuddled in mum's lap.  These are things that God built in the rhythm of normal life in a family, and they will build a rich soul. 

For 'This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.' (Psalm 118).

Our learning to celebrate life when God has given good things to us is a pleasure to him.  We bring him joy by accepting the gladness found in the gifts he has provided.  We will all walk through many seasons of springtimes in our lives.  They are the bright, innocent, promising days that can fill us up for the future if only we will enter into their joy and their adjustments with grace.  Winter seasons will come into our lives.  How important it is that we choose to celebrate beauty when we can, storing up joy and happiness to revisit in the cold of the winter nights ahead.

But even rejoicing requires a choice - we have to submit to the limitations of the spring years and seasons, we have to accept the small graces, and submit to the beautiful blooms and the little storms.  We have to see spring as a gift of life, not a season to be endured, or even just passively experience.  God invites us to look and to see with the eyes of our hearts all that is good, to find peace and rest as we see what is important, and to discard any things that would distract us from the life he offers......... live fully in the present, loving deeply, and celebrating the newness of life as it comes our way."

by Sally Clarkson,

"Seasons of a Mother's Heart"