Times are Changing

I'm beginning to notice it. Times are changing. I'm noticing it in the day to day, and in the unpredicted surprises that have been arriving in my life. The days are longer, the breeze is warmer. I find myself lingering on my deck in the evenings, and making it out there before waking the kids in the mornings.

The humming bird feeder is hung, and I wait expectantly for them to arrive. Spring continues to bloom in great splendor! Yet, even some of the "expected" things are different.

The irises were moved along the fence line last fall, after the dog came to join the family. When I transplanted them, I remembered them being purple, maybe one or two "different" colors, but certainly not yellow. Not only are there yellow ones, but they are PRIMARILY yellow, plentiful, and TALL.

Inside my house, "stuff" I have held onto is leaving and furniture is being rearranged. I am sure that there is some sort of parallel within my self that I am not yet fully aware of. No doubt, my behavior gives me away....

Soon, school will be out. The kids are looking forward to a later bedtime - I am looking forward to "no alarm clock" mornings! Some of our activities will be the same this year - our annual trek to Massachusetts and Maine, for example. Some are brand new. And some of the old activities - like days at the local Y pool - have new rules.

It's ever changing. That's a good thing. It allows growth. It keeps things fresh. It keeps me from getting set in a rut of life. It keeps me looking to God for direction on the next right thing to do.

So, here I am, looking and waiting for more to be revealed. I have a sense that some of the changes are as inevitable as the seasons. May I be as willing to grow and bloom as the flowers of the field.

May I also be as accepting of the gifts that are being brought my way as I was with the Easter flowers. I might even learn that there is beauty and joy in things that I have avoided thus far.... like petunias. Who knew that in a pot by my new sitting area, they are not nearly as ugly as I had imagined.

Open my heart, Lord.... Give me eyes to see....