Spring Means New Beginnings

 

On this day, I simply want to BE - to soak up some sun and enjoy the spectacular views. Sitting on a grassy bluff surrounded by towering madrone and Douglas fir trees, I gaze across the vast expanse of sand exposed by the receding tide. Beyond the sands lay the waters of Georgia Strait, snow-capped mountains of mainland British Columbia forming a dramatic backdrop. Closing my eyes briefly, I hear the soft swish of the wind in the trees and feel the warmth of the sun on my face. We have come here for rest and relaxation - what a day to be alive!

 

We have come through the long season of darkness. Some of us may carry heavy burdens and feel no relief with this passage of time. But we are still here as the days lengthen and the earth warms.

As Easter people, we have passed through a time of sadness and grief and come forward into the light of new hope. Once again, we witness a season of newness and rebirth.

In the woods blooms appear on Indian plum, salmonberry, red flowering current and Oregon grape, while redwood sorrel, trillium, and delicate Pacific bleeding heart brighten the forest floor.

 

 

In our yards forsythia, dogwood, rhododendron, bluebells, tulips, and many others burst forth in various colors and scents.

 

We drift off to sleep with the peeping of frogs and awake to the singing of birds, which are already nesting and caring for young; young fawns will soon be seen with their cautious mothers.

 

Dusty, bug-gnawed leaves will be seen later, but now all new growth appears shiny-bright and squeaky-clean.

 

We anticipate all that is new: a landscape full of surprises, a first-born child, a joining of lives in marriage.  Still to come are graduations, anniversaries, and celebrations we’ve yet to plan. Rejoice in this, for as spring progresses with wave after wave of sprouting, unfolding, and blooming we are led toward the full-fledged burgeoning of summer. After our dark, cool, wet winters who does not welcome that?

It is a time to savor and enjoy. There is much to be learned from the never-ending cycle of seasons, for we can – each of us – begin anew; we can be refreshed, changed, improved.

 

If there are things undone, we can do them. If we owe an apology or need to make amends, we can do that. If we are weary, we can rest. We can get our affairs in order; if necessary, we can say our good-byes. We can change our household, our appearance, our habits, our state of mind, our outlook or attitude. We can change our actions, or finally act at all. We can accept that challenge, take on that task, meet that new person, or send that letter. We can make that call, visit that friend, and hold that hand. This is a time of renewal and second chances - thank GOD we have those.

 

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:18-19

 

While You're Away...

 

"I make the most of all that comes

and the least of all that goes."

Sara Teasdale

 

Driving about, during the times when deciduous trees have lost their leaves, I am always attracted to empty birds' nests in trees. I certainly would take notice of - and great interest in - them any time of the year, but they usually are not so easily seen. This is quite intentional on the birds' part, but once they're done with them, what does it matter?

 
For me, as in many things, it leads to interesting thoughts: Where are those particular birds now? Did they successfully raise their young and how many survived? Will they return to the same nest next spring or build a new one? Will I notice that they've returned or recognize them and will I even care by then? After my thinking has run its course on the birds, it turns inward. The birds may not wonder at all about me, but just what will I have done in the time they've been away? It is a thought worth pursuing...
 

 
We all suffer some degree of loss in our lifetimes. Relationships change, friends leave, spouses wander, parents and siblings die. The older we get, the more loss we have experienced, and that can become a burdensome thing. For those who believe in some sort of afterlife, there is at least the hint of a promise of reconnection. If the loss was caused by some kind of unresolved differences, there may be a chance of reconciliation - if not in this life, then in the next. If the loss was a person we cared deeply for, perhaps we will be together again someday. No more tears, pain, loneliness, or suffering - all will be well in the hereafter. The trouble is, no one can tell us when that will be and the waiting can be interminable.
 

 
While there are a number of different belief systems, those that offer no hereafter surely have ways of dealing with loss, but reuniting after this life would not be one of them. For those who have no belief in an afterlife, what's done is done. In some ways this might seem better, for putting one's life on hold in the hope for a better future "someday" could certainly lead to stagnation and dead ends - no pun intended. A great many poets and others who have ways with words have stated that the past is over and done with and the future is not guaranteed. All we really have is today - here and now. But if we are dealing with loss, how does this help?
 

 
I return to my thoughts of the empty birds' nests. To those birds I would say this: "While you've been away, I have remained the same in some ways and changed in others. I have grown, learned, and reached out beyond myself. I have made mistakes, stumbled, fallen, and picked myself up. I have remembered the past, but not remained mired there. I have anticipated the future and moved forward, knowing I may never reach it. I have endeavored to help others, share what I have, see life through their eyes. I have not wasted my life, but have lived it - loved, laughed, sung, danced, and enjoyed those around me. I think of you and remember all that you taught me; my life is richer because you were here."
 

 
If I would say that to birds, how much more could I say to those I've lost? The telling does not need to be in words, only in the living of our lives. Whether you believe we'll meet again or not, imagine it is so. LIVE your life - in honor of, or in spite of, those you've lost.  For in the end, this is what truly matters.
 

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

What is your life?

You are a mist that appears for a little while

and then vanishes.

James 4:14

Proper Handling of Gifts

What is the proper way to treat a lovely gift that you have been given? Would it depend on the value of the gift, who the giver is, or whether or not you plan to pass it on to others? What if your health, your life - and that of others - depended on it?

Shoppers worldwide are using approximately 500 billion single-use plastic bags per year, which is about a million bags every minute across the globe, or 150 bags a year for every person on earth.  If you joined the bags end to end they would circle the globe 4,200 times.

Plastics do not decompose, but merely break up into smaller pieces, although some do break down into polymers and toxic chemicals. It can take anywhere between 20-1000 years for a plastic bag to break up. The #1 man made thing that sailors see in our oceans are plastic bags.

More than a billion people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water, but most countries that buy bottled water do have the luxury of quality tap water.

Each year, 53 billion gallons of bottled water are consumed globally - Americans drink 8.6 billion gallons of those.  17 million barrels (340 million gallons) of oil are used yearly to produce bottled water.

Plastic water bottles take 450 years to break down; only 1 in 5 bottles is recycled. - the other 4 contribute to the 3 million pounds of plastic water bottles added to landfills each year. Some of those end up in the ocean.

Across the world, 13-15,000 pieces of plastic are dumped into the oceans every day and there are believed to now be 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean.

There are 5 ocean gyres in the world where plastic gathers due to current circulation. These gyres contain millions of pieces of plastic and our wildlife feed in these grounds.

At least two thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion,  

approximately 1 million sea birds die from ingesting plastic,

 

and 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement - these are the ones that are found.

 

Scientists have identified 200 areas in our oceans declared as ‘dead zones’ where no life organisms can now grow.

Is this how we treat gifts given in love?  

 

The heavens are the LORD's heavens,

but the earth he has given to human beings. 

Psalm 115:16

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars that you have established,

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them dominion

over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

Psalm 8: 3-9

Getting from Here to There

 

Peering out, I see a vast landscape below - wrinkled, rumpled, and worn - spreading out in all directions as far as I can see.

 

 

Appearing as a patchwork quilt, some of it has been cultivated; circles, squares, and rectangles clearly indicate patterns of tilling, planting, and irrigating.

 

 

Some of it is wild and untouched - or nearly so - hills and mountains with rugged edges descending into steep canyons or wide valleys.

 

 

 Throughout the cultivated land, and less so through the wild, run narrow, winding roads, appearing much like pencil lines drawn at random.
 

 

We know that they really are not random, but only appear that way from the air. They each serve a function - most of them, at least - to lead you and me and others from here to there.

As I study these myriad, meandering pathways, the thought occurs to me that we really often have no idea where we're going.

We usually know where we begin our journey and where we want it to end, but no way can we see the entire route. From my vantage point high above, I can easily see the long-range route of each path - the straight, level sections, rolling hilly parts, steep winding curves, and sometimes the dead ends. All of this may be apparent to those who travel those ways frequently, but for others the finding is in the traveling.

 

 

And even if someone were to view their chosen route from high above, carefully plotting their course, the reality of traveling there might be entirely different.

For there are always the unknowns - detours, alternate routes, unforeseen obstacles, unplanned changes, sudden disruptions, and other things we never imagine.

And so it is not always a simple matter to get from here to there.

 

Is this not much the way our lives are - simply trying to get from here and now to there and then?  We all know it is never that easy, for our chosen paths are not always straight, smooth, and even.

Some of us know exactly where we want to go, carefully choosing a direct route that should get us there with a minimum of time and trouble.

Others of us have no idea where we want to go, daily muddling through and taking whichever turn in the road looks like it might lead somewhere, anywhere at all.

 

 

Those who plan carefully may be in for surprise route-changes on the way. Those who wander may stumble onto a route that takes them to a place they never thought they'd be.

 

 

Most of us probably think it's better to plan ahead, but there really are no guarantees. Much of our road in life is simply unknown.

 

 

So what are we to do? There is an African Proverb that says “If you don’t know where you're coming from, you don’t know where you're going.” It is best to figure out where we are now before plotting a course for the future. Weighing our options is always a good idea, as is getting some advice from others who might have taken the same route.

It can be a lonely journey, so we mustn't forget to ask for directions and help when we need it. Together, we can step boldly forward in faith, but we must have some idea of where we want to go. For, as Lewis Carroll wrote: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

 

 

This is what the LORD says:

       Stand at the crossroads and look,

       ask for the ancient paths,

       ask where the good way is, and walk in it

       and you will find rest for your souls. 

            Jeremiah 6:16

 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it" 

            Isaiah 30:21