Spring is just around the corner. We all know what this means. The birds are now attacking my car’s rearview mirrors and leaving abstract art on my car doors. I know this is a part of their innate territorial behavior. It is also a result of human’s introducing mirrors into their natural habitat, but regardless of the reason, I wish they would stop.
Trees and flowers are beginning to bloom around our town. Pinks and yellows are overtaking the browns and grays of recent months. Of course, this means my eyes and nose are getting itchy. I’m not sure what God put in those blossoms, but they aren’t agreeing with my mucous membranes.
The temperature is swinging like a pendulum in a Poe novel. It’s 29 degrees at night and 76 degrees in the afternoon. It takes mental calisthenics each morning to choose our clothing and then physical calisthenics during the day getting layers on and off relative to ever-changing temperature.
I’m about to lose an hour of sleep. I’ve never quite understood daylight savings time. I know it had its origins in early agrarian society but so did child labor, and we haven’t retained that through the decades. We keep changing our clocks twice a year, and I’m not sure why. To make matters worse, while my watch and phone are now smart enough to change time on their own, my stove, microwave and bedside alarm are still dumb. Since I am technologically challenged, I have to re-figure the process on these appliances twice a year!
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to find reasons to complain? I woke up this morning. My heart was beating. I took another breath. I was able to walk to the kitchen and brew a cup of coffee. My eyes still function well enough to read an email from a friend and a chapter of a book. I have hot and cold running water. I stepped out of my condo into a day canopied by a splendid blue sky. I drove to work in a vehicle I own. I was greeted by co-workers that share a passion for the church and her people. I will be challenged and encouraged today by people and circumstances that are woven into the fabric of my life. I will eat food that someone else has produced and prepared for me. If I’m lucky—if I’m blessed—I’ll make it back to a warm bed tonight, and if I don’t make it back to that bed, I’ll be resting in God’s arms elsewhere.
So, bring on the birds and the blossoms, the barometric pressure and yes, even the time change. I’m not complaining. It’s almost Spring.
—Jim