The Renewal of Spring

I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:19a

The Renewal of Spring. April 21, 2024.

We have a park nearby that has become a habit of mine for my morning runs. It is a quiet place that allows for thinking, prayers and the admiration of nature. Year in and year out I watch each season in the park with a prayer of thanks while I run. Mercifully spared from becoming a part of the housing development its name is Sunrise Park. Likely it received that name because it faces the east and has a lovely view of the sunrise. It is a pretty little oasis in suburbia and a bit of refuge from the city noise and lights. Right now, I can hear nothing but the gentle Spring wind blowing across the green velvet grass that is dotted with flushes of orchid-colored flowers that are happily soaking in the early Spring sun.

Nearby the large islands of wild roses have new leaves sprouting all over after spending the winter as a dormant bramble, sleeping through all through the snow and the great ice storm. Yet even while sleeping the wild rose was sheltering new life and now a tiny brown bunny peeps out from his winter home. He has been waiting for the sun to come out and play. Cautiously, he hops out of his hole and begins to munch on a patch of new grass, still keeping an eye out all around him. He isn’t bothered by my presence, and we look at each other for a bit. On top of the roses are bitty little sparrows that flit here and there alighting on a branch to look around for food or twig. They also dart under the roses companionably with the bunnies. 

I see a spot of pink and step closer. On top of the bunny’s home the first rose is blooming. Its humble appearance with it only five petals belies its rich, old-world scent. Old roses smell like heavenly perfume. They have no equal. In the next few days, the roses will bloom all over sharing their musky perfume.

A little further on are the miniature daisies dotting the grass. They face the sun fearlessly, throwing their white petals wide open in an annual rite to welcome Spring. It is a pretty pastoral picture, and my mind instantly takes a snapshot of the moment to add to the memory banks.

The blossoming trees are masses of pink and white frilly blooms looking liked dressed up ladies. A gentle breeze comes and their branches gently snow blossom petals as if a Spring wedding were going on and all are invited.

At the center of the park sits a small seasonal pond, partially surrounded by tall birch trees that provide a casual woodland guard to the oasis. The large stones, warm from the sun, beckon to the onlooker to come and sit and enjoy its gentle beauty. Sitting on the stones you can watch billowy clouds amble across the sky like fluffy sheep who are going nowhere in particular. The great renewal of life has never failed to keep its yearly tryst with the land. Spring is the world’s testimony of God’s power over death. We who accept God’s gift of salvation were dead, but now come alive in the hands of the Creator. Spring now resides eternal in our hearts where death once lived. 

“For see, the winter is past,
    the rains are over and gone.
 The flowers appear in the countryside;
    the season of joyful songs has arrived”

Song of Solomon 2:11-12b