Spring has Sprung
Drum roll please…….today, March 20th, is officially the first day of Spring, And, yesterday, Sunday, I came out — outside, that is. It was a glorious, sun-shiny day.
Just knowing that today is the first day of Spring made me want to go out and about. Yesterday was the last day of Austin’s SXSW – South by Southwest – which is dedicated to creative people highlighting their tech, film, music, education, and culture talents. The event goes for 10 days and folks from all around the world attend.
I haven’t desired to attend this Austin gem because it is known for heavy traffic, hard to deal with finding a parking place, and we’d have to walk for who knows how far to get to the venues. Can you imagine that positive and optimistic ME hasn’t participated in such an eclectic event? I’ll admit I’m not a “Spring” chicken, BUT then, I did a mind flip and started thinking about SPRING in my steps.
SPRING means we’re walking with a bit of a bounce in our steps, implying that we’re in a good mood or something good has just happened to us. That’s what we felt like as we navigated ourselves to the SXSW Sunday religious music in Republic Square. Funny thing — we didn’t need a crowd-control officer helping us, but we found other believers who came to enjoy the great outdoors and God’s presence on a mild last day of Winter!
The band leader said this: “You don’t need to sales pitch the gospel! Just be the example of Jesus. Just be awesome. Be really beautiful to everyone you meet, and they will ask you where it comes from! The smile on our face, the joy in our hearts say it all.”
After the SXSW we found magnificent Texas bluebonnets blossoming in abundance. A tip from a newscaster led us to this crop in South Austin at the San Jose Cemetery where we saw head stones dated back to the 1850’s. Imagine if we had stayed away from experiencing God’s creation because of weather, crowds, or traffic. We would have missed the blessings of a beautiful God-given day, praising with other believers in a park and missing the bluebonnets in a cemetery! Who says going to a cemetery is morbid? They need to go to San Jose Cemeterio and have some amazing outdoors moments!
Who wants to be so weighed down with a heavy situation? No one! But when we are, think about the good news that suddenly comes sweeping through the hills or the plains and we feel light as a feather! I felt that way yesterday! I suddenly had SPRING in my steps!
This time of year helps with that bounce in our steps! We get a fresh new perspective on life. Spring marks a new beginning. I love that it brings Easter — the celebration that Christ lives.
All of nature is renewed and it reminds me even more of God’s great love for us. Everything starts to come alive. Our world gets filled with color. At the cemetery we encountered two sisters who were at their great great grandmother’s tombstone. It read Marcelina Ledisaia 1874 – 1929. They were beaming with pride and delighted in telling us stories about her and the beautiful celebrations that take place in this historic setting. It seemed we had official tour guides. Thanks, God!
We have reasons for joy and life. We should be like sunshine rays because we have good news of a great and mighty God to share. Like the birds singing in the Spring, we should be singing songs of praise and thanksgiving with a “Spring in our Step” everyday! With each step, we should have a smile on our face and love in our hearts! After all, we know the CREATOR of Springtime. He is our Maker and He made us with “built-in” springs that cause us to rebound with God’s peace, joy and love every day!