I wonder how I can go through my life, day after day, without noticing. And then, all of a sudden, something that I have seen before, and apparently overlooked, is so breathtaking, it captures my complete attention. I can't NOT look.
I wonder if sometimes it takes a little dreariness to see what's been there all along, inviting me to experience life to the fullest. Honestly, I think they wait for just the right moment to call to me. Those moments when my heart and my head are in perfect position to see and to hear and to feel...
If that is the case, then today's experience makes complete sense....
It was an overcast day. The rain had ceased, but the sun had yet to break through the cloud covering. I was feeling a little "overcast" as well....or is it overwhelmed? Either way, my schedule for the day had changed, so rather than being a little "caught up", I was feeling significantly "farther behind".
As I drove, I considered timing, to do's and deadlines and the "urgencies" that crept ever closer. My breath shallowed as a bit of dread crept in.
I began to think of the Joys in my life, and of love. I remembered my status from the morning - "Love is about open arms..." And then, how that sentence ends. I shift to gratitude for those people and situations who have helped pry my arms free of myself.... but still, I can't shake the feeling that I'll never get caught up enough to really be still.
I click "play" on my phone, to hear the remainder of today's daily bible reading: Mark 14. One of my favorite scenes - the woman, anointing Jesus with her "alabaster flask of pure nard". Something about her deep love and her intuitive knowing always touches my heart. "She has done a beautiful thing for me". My heart longs to do the same....
And then, I notice the trees. I have been watching them lately - the big, empty-leaved ones. The ones that are JUST BEGINNING to show a tinge of red at the tips of their branches. I've noticed that if I let my gaze be just out of focus as I am driving along, they are covered in a reddish hue. They are preparing to bud. Spring is coming. SOON!
"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?" Yes, Lord, I DO perceive it.... I see what you are doing with the earth, I see what you are doing in the lives of my friends, and I feel what you are doing within me.
I have managed to slow down enough to catch the very beginning of this springtime! YES! (I love that!) I long to savor the moments and catch the subtleties of the changing seasons.
But, as I drive the familiar road through the rural countryside, it is not the leafless budding trees I notice. It is the ones that DO have leaves - still holding tight to their autumn colors.. Leaves that appear golden yellow, or a shimmering white. There they are, scattered amid the taller trees. All throughout the forest, they stand with open arms inviting me to dance!
And oh how I wish I could!
Perhaps one day, I will remember my boots....
And one day - if you're driving that road, and you see a woman swirling and spinning among the trees - it's just me...
accepting His invitation...