Impending Bloom and Hope

We have all had more than our fill of disaster news of late,  I know I have.  It is such a grief to me to feel so utterly helpless when there is such great need as there is in the world and though I know our minds go straight to Japan, it is not just there but everywhere.  My heart cannot bear to look at it constantly.  If I did I would fall into despair without remedy.

First buds of warm sunny yellow peeking out on Primula veris

I was thankful to be out working in my garden today, to even have a garden, to be able to clean up things and see the new growth at my feet.  As I picked up the last of the garden duff I looked around and was overwhelmed by how even a flower bud is a messenger of hope, that life will go on, that there is yet beauty to be seen.

Pulmonaria longifolia, hope in breathtaking blue

I love that God saw fit to give us seasons to remind us that life does go on, that nothing lasts forever and that things only truly last just for a season and that he gave us impending blooms, a small thing with a big message.

Pure white Andromeda and bright ruby buds Ribes ranguineum a hope-filled contrast of colors

Rosemary, the herb of remembrance, bears her blooms of hope in soft pail blue

It doesn't matter if one is in a disaster zone or not there are still signs of hope when spring arrives.  If we can tear our eyes away from the dispairing scenes before us long enough and look around we will find them...small messages of hope sometimes surprising us from the crevice of a rock, as they lay on branches of a tree or on the ground at our feet.

I pray these little glimpses will be that sweet reminder of the mercy of the seasons and especially this season of hope.