Spring is in the air
Or maybe it isnt. But Dads House is having a competition and its all about Spring. So lets all pretend!
Spring time in Pretoria is beautiful. Its the time of year when the Jacarandas start blooming and very quickly the city is covered with a roof top of purple beauty. And then once the flowers start falling we are carpeted in purple.
It is truely beautiful and I am only truely appreciating it now. It is the perfect way to start Spring. It symbolises a new begining, a new start, hope and beauty. It reminds me that no matter what happens during the seasons before, when I see those first purple blossoms I know that there is hope again.
Eventhough it is nowhere near spring time here in South Africa. I feel I have sorted moved into Spring time in my life.
For three years I have been working the land, preparing it to plant the seeds. I have prepared the soil with my bare hands. Toiling and digging and moving and preparing the hard earth for new life. I have sweated and cried tears of frustration, tears of anger, tears of joy. I have thrown my hands in the air and wanted so desperately to admit defeat. To get someone else to take the responsibility. I have watched the land disappear under a blanket of snow during the darkest of winters. I have felt the warmth of the sun trying to melt the snow. I have felt the bareness of a tree who has just lost all its leaves during autumn. My shoulders have sunk in despair as the summer rains washed away all the hard work, leaving a puddle of muddy water.
Finally a few months ago I was ready to plant the first seeds. Seeds of forgiveness. Seeds of acceptance. Seeds of hope. Seeds of love. I covered them gentle and whispered “Good luck I know you shall be beautiful”. I have watered them and whispered “Good luck I know you shall be strong”. I have pulled the weeds out and whispered “Good luck I know you shall be loved”
I have watched as the shoots started to peek through and welcomed them with joy.
And now I am watching as the stems grow and the buds prepare to blossom.
I am watching with pride. I needed to prepare the soil. I needed to cleanse it. Remove the rocks and the stones and the weeds. I needed to break it before I could make it whole again. The only way for the seeds of hope, love, forgiveness and acceptance to grow and flourish is for them to have been planted in a soil willing to bare their beauty.
We dont always realise that. We think if we plant a seed it will grow. It may but chances are it wont.
So as hard as it has been for me to prepare the soil, to go through immense heartache and pain! It has been so worth it to see the fruits of my labour.
I am no longer working the land alone. I have friends standing next to me, helping me. I have a man, holding my hand. And I have my childrens whose buds have started blooming into the most spectacular blossoms I shall ever have the priveledge of seeing.
It is indeed the Spring time of my life!
The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams
March 28th, 2009 at 7:31 am
you write so beautifully.
March 28th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Wow. Lots to think about!
March 28th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Wow. The imagery in this post is truly beautiful and the power of your words and brought a tear to my eye. I hope that I can work my land well enough to plant those seeds.
P.S. Purple is my favourite colour and I wish we had Jacaranda lined streets here in CT. It’s GORGEOUS in spring.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
That’s a beautiful way to look at it Laura. Spring just happens to be my favourite season, how can you not feel ALIVE! when everything is bursting out of its winter slumber all around you.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Beautiful post, both the imagery and the sentiment. Working the soil of our own lives, and planting seeds for a new beginning takes a lot of faith. You don’t really know what you’ll get, or what will happen in the end. All you can do is do your best.
Your writing here is quite touching and inspiring.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Wow… so awesome!
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
This is beautiful. It is amazing what happens when the winter fades to spring… and the life that we see is often a means of reflecting that awakening of our lives and our own springs. Beautiful… and congratuations!
I love the purple flowers too!
April 5th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Beautifully written and so wise. You definitely gave me something to think about!