My husband and I enjoy walking in a local arboretum on spring weekends. We have been doing it since our children were small, and while they are adults now, we appreciate the deep familiarity with a variety of trees and plants that we have known over the years. An aspect of spring that is beautiful to me is the way that different trees and plants come into bloom at different times; magnolias, tulip trees, lilacs, and others provide a different point of interest each time we go. I often reflect on how our lives are often in parallel to what we see in the bud, blossom, and ending of the flowering trees.
With that in mind, I suggest a prayer practice for spring that can be done in a park, arboretum, backyard garden, or other natural setting. Those with health, mobility, or transportation limits could try praying with a bouquet of flowers or an online video.
Pay attention to the sights and scents of flowers at different stages: a bud waiting to unfurl, a blossom in full bloom, or the petals scattered or withered once that time has faded. Are there places in your own life that are like any of these moments in the life of a flower?
Fading
Change is a part of life, and some projects or relationships have had their time in the daylight, and we need to let them go. Blossoms fall and fade slowly, with grace. Where in my life is God inviting me to reflect on the graces of a past season and move on to something different? Naming the gifts of the past and letting ourselves feel a little of the poignancy of time can help with the process.
Budding
Where are the sometimes-tiny clues that new life is coming?
Is there a new desire or direction in my life that is akin to a bud, not yet fully visible, but brimming with possibility—a new project, way of relating to others, or something in myself that longs for a fresh direction? Or where do I find signs of hope as I await God’s transformation of loss or sorrow into the resurrection of new life? Where are the sometimes-tiny clues that new life is coming?
Blossoming
Where do I find that God is near, for example, in a sense that I am freely myself and open to others and to God? Where am I finding a natural and easy energy to be a man or woman for others? Where do I see faith and love in my family and wider community? Take in the “scents,” and savor them!
Photo by Evie Fjord on Unsplash.
