The month of June is well on its way and I am celebrating spring! Here in Manitoba it's a rainier, bleaker spring than usual, but it is spring, and I want to say yes to it. I tell myself that the rain will give the upcoming growth the necessary moisture to make it even more beautiful when the sun comes out. I go to my back yard and collect the first harbingers of spring: bleeding heart, forget -me-nots and lily of the valley.
I place them in one of my favorite vases. This vase is quite old and there is a history that goes along with it.It comes from Aalsmeer, a town in North Holland, nicknamed the flower capital of the world! Hardy bought it in Europe in the spring and summer of 1965 when he was working for MCC. It was the summer before we got to know each other. He gave it to his aunt and inherited it when she passed away. There is a crack in it, but someone glued it back together again. I don't know who broke it and who fixed it, but it must have been a good glue, because the vase doesn't leak. It tells me that broken things (and broken hearts) can be mended and made useful again. I share this story with a granddaughter and promise to pass this beautiful treasure on to her some day.
The lilac bush that Hardy and I dug up from my parents' garden a number of years ago is blooming more this spring than in the last few years. I remember the lilac hedge around my parental home and I celebrate their lives and their legacy.
I wave goodbye to children and grandchildren who have come for a visit and have brightened my day. They are in the springtime of their lives and my joy and delight! I love to observe how they find their place in this world, and how each of the eight grandchildren has special memories of their Opa.
Julia, who has been a camp counselor for several summers just recently got baptized at the camp. She told me that she wore her Opa's red and white plaid shirt over her bathing suit and that she found his hearing aid batteries in the pocket of that shirt, so she knew he was with her! As I was preparing this post, the photos below came up on my memory screen. Hardy is wearing the shirt that Julia chose to wear for her baptism! I celebrate this little miracle!
In case you missed it, on the top left corner of the above photo is a dragon fly, a special symbol of positive qualities such as courage, transformation, joy and adaptability.
A message from the book of Ecclesiastes 9:7-10:
Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes--God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don't skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, for there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed. (Eugene H. Peterson, The Message)
In a Rejoice Devotional, Debora Carpeno writes:
This life is full of uncertainty and death is inevitable. Yet, in the face of these realities, Ecclesiastes does not give in to despair. Instead it is a call to live life with fullness, joy and wisdom. Amid a turbulent world, and in the face of many choices, we must learn to allow ourselves to be calm, to rest and enjoy life.
Every day is a gift. Enjoy your gift!
