Hope is spring to me and spring time arouses hope.  As a gardener and a curious sort, wandering around seeing the green tips of new life coming up from the dark, wet, cold earth NEVER gets old.  I am sure if I were left in the earth through fall and winter, I would not emerge.  And it would take many hours of me whining – being left out there to begin with – before I would quiet down for the winter sleep.  Cold is never my favorite.

But unmistakably today there are the tips of the new growth, new buds on the shrubs and trees, early bulbs and emerging weeds that shout – SPRING IS HERE.  (love digging the weeds for the chickens – they adore them).

Our world can feel like winter now – hiding in the dark and cold.  Hard to emerge.  Sensitive to the light.  Skeptical that life could be good and warm and welcoming ever again.

My Back Yard:  I have a tree that lost a whole side of it to the terrible winds we had in middle TN last year.  It was a terrifying storm.  This beautiful Elm tree, that provided a play area for my grands and shade for me to do coaching in the middle to late afternoon at my picnic table with my green tea.  This tree I love and has shaded me for 7 years. 

BUT, the damaged and hurt side has new growth!!  Not as big as the other side, but new growth.  It did not give up.  Damaged, frozen and windblown – many weeks without rain and then many many days of flooding, and it has buds!!  Can you imagine how it is when the roots are good, it can grow.

Where are you solid and rooted?  What holds you together?  What are you providing for you to “emerge” from this winter we are having…the chaos of this world we live in?

And yet nature does what it does each spring.  It emerges.  It shows up.  It remembers that it can grow and thrive. 

Fertilizer, water, sun, maybe some mulch for the plants and a good raking of the rubble from the fall and winter…….maybe we can do this too…with grace and dignity and hope for ourselves and others.  Rake up the rubble and use it for our mulch. 

Our worlds have experienced horrible happenings so many times and we awoke and thrived.

The Cherry Blossoms, given to us by Japan in the 19th century, are blooming in Washington, DC  They bloom around this time each year.  Millions of people visit DC each year to see them. 

One year there was a terrible last frost in DC and almost destroyed the trees – there were few blossoms or flowers.  HOWEVER, two of the hundreds of the cherry trees, fully bloomed and showed off for the visitors.  All was not lost.  The next year the cherry trees bloomed again and this year they have bloomed again and are gorgeous.

Things are blooming and growing and showing up even in these terrible circumstances. 

Let yourself bloom.  Take a chance to thrive.  It is worth it. 

I passed Forsythia bush in full bloom this week –  bright yellow and screaming “spring is here people”.  It also sat in the cold, blowing, snow and ice storms during this winter.  Nothing kept it from showing up. 

I have decided to be a Forsythia bush this week.  Bright, in full bloom, a harbinger of wonderful full ripe tomatoes and peppers coming this summer.

Join me. 

To our success,