New Life

Growing up, I loved springtime.  Not only was it a welcome the end to the dead of winter.  It was also the season of new life.  The trees and flowers blossomed, and the fields and gardens began to offer a new promise of hope.  Today, living in Las Vegas, spring does not have the same meaning.  Out here, spring marks the beginning of brutally hot season that scorches anything I plant in the ground.  There are certainly some plants that can survive, but I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to them… as they blossom, my house is filled with uncontrolled sneezing!   

I never had much success gardening. (Even when I wasn’t living in Las Vegas, I managed to kill just about every plant I came across!)  However, I did have a grandmother who could grow just about anything.  I remember being inspired when I saw this woman in her garden.  She would be surrounded by bugs, dirt, heat and humidity, and she loved it!  She found a joy in the soil that transformed the world around her.

My grandmother passed away a couple weeks ago, and I have spent a lot of time recently reflecting on her life.  She was a woman who had a gift for growing flowers, but more than that she had the gift of love.  Just as she was inexplicably able to make a flower bloom, she also offered a love that miraculously grew beyond all boundaries.  I will always remember her hugs, laughter, and the sweaters that she was forever knitting and giving away.  Those small gestures had an everlasting impact.

I hope you all can believe that your love has the ability to move mountains.  You do not need to be strong or powerful to change the world.  (You certainly don’t have to be very tall.  I think I passed my grandma’s height when I was in the fourth grade…J) Anyone can share love!  Today, I hope we can all take a little time to cultivate the love we have.  I pray we would also believe in and nurture the love that God has given to each us!

Blessings!

Brian