A Haiku or Two

Colors smells abound
as life around me renews,
the beauty of spring

A caterpillar
falls down from the tree above,
rude awakening

The willowy cat

squeezes through a hole so small

after the robin

I am in the mood for spring and felt the need to express it in haiku! 
Haiku- a poem consisting of respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables in three units. Typically with a seasonal theme, though it isn't always that obvious. 

In Anticipation of Spring

It was posed to me the other day about which season is my favorite. As this person rambled on about the grand qualities of spring, as that was their favorite, I pondered the question.

I too look forward to spring. The budding trees, fragrant flowers, and cool breeze with a touch of sunshine on my skin. I just adore the smell of the hyacinth in full bloom. Everything is coming alive. I think we get an extra "spring" in our step. Even the cat gets this crazy burst of energy to dash up a tree and jump into the bushes as if an unseen predator is hot on his tail. The birds are chirping their glorious song of thanksgiving as the cold temperatures dissipate into a fading memory. Oh, yes, I do love spring. However, I find my answer must be (if you would allow me to cheat just a tad) that I love the changing of the seasons best.
   
I quite often hear people say "I can't wait til spring", but then spring comes and you hear "I can't wait til summer". It too comes and in the midst of the AR heat wave that we all long for in mid-February we say "oh if fall would just hurry up and come". Fall comes and the trees erupt in bright splendor only to leave us the job of raking the lawn and we wish for winter weather to take it all away. The cold hits. The snow or ice falls and traffic comes to a halt, the grocery stores empty, our bones ache and again we wish for spring!

Isn't that how we do with the seasons of life? In the midst of planning a big event, we can't wait until the "big day". In the midst of pain and sorrow, we yearn for relief. When I get this promotion, then I'll spend more time with my family. On Thursday, we can't wait for Friday and on and on it goes. We wish and wish the days away until our seasons come up short and we find ourselves wondering where did all the time go.

I don't want to be a wisher- wishing my life away. I've been there, but I don't want to live there. I have always said there is joy in the journey. There is, I know it. I've experienced it even in hard times. My resolution today is to be present, to be aware, to be appreciative, to experience the joy in my journey!

I have so much to be grateful for, you have much to be grateful for. We take a lot for granted; people, transportation, health, food, things (wants not just needs), comfort, safety, freedom. We complain about the dirty mess the kids left behind, then they are off to college and we miss their smudgy little prints. We get impatient with our parent's stories and then they are gone and we desire those words of wisdom.

So, instead of being a wisher away kind of person. I want to be a constant observer of my blessings. There IS joy in the journey, every journey even the painful ones. You may just have to look a little harder, a little longer, a little deeper. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

So what will you rejoice in today? 

Hope is the key

Hope has always been my word. It is the theme of the verse the Lord gave me years ago, on numerous occasions. Found in Jeremiah 29:11 it says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope." Doesn't that give you peace? It does me. It is what I cling to when my world seems to be falling apart. It is a constant reminder that He holds me in the palm of His hand. Oh and therein lies the true key...the important part, where your hope lies. Psalm 39:7 says "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you."

I recently had the great privilege of speaking about depression and chronic illness with a group of fellow transplant patients. A comment by an attendee got my attention; "we are faced with our mortality in a way others are not and that's frightening." I would by no means argue that point at all, but what if we look at it as a gift. A gift, as in, we look death in the face and say "I have absolutely no control here." We learn what that means, get it straight and move on to live the life planned for us.

The truth is none of us have control, we just think we do. We speed through life trying to achieve those all important goals we set for ourselves; money, career, family, etc...but in the end no amount of money can keep you young and healthy, no career can satisfy your needs, and no family or person can fill the void of love in you. So when that doctor comes in and says you have such and such disease and it's terminal, mortality hits you square in the eyes. You come face to face with the realization that your healthy eating, exercise, great gene pool, money for the best care....it's all rubbish. If you don't reach out to the one that conquered mortality you will forever live in fear.

I always knew, even at age 8 when I was diagnosed there was nothing in the world my parents could do to save me, to heal me. I was, however, saved around the same time and that is when my heavenly Father placed a little bulb called hope inside me. He has watered it over the years through his word, faithful friends who have spoken truth and comfort, and a loving family that held my hand through the pain.

So yes, maybe I was faced with my mortality at the tender age of 8 years old. But so too will you come face to face with it. My question to you is, where does your hope lie?