The Beauty of Springtime & My Patient Husband

Nate and I both love spring. Let's be honest for a second, who doesn't? After a long and cold winter, nothing is more refreshing than being able to peel off all of those layers from winter (yes, the ones that may have been hiding all those extra lattes and cups of hot chocolate you may have consumed during the cold) and to take a walk and see a canvas come to life as God begins to paint a beautiful work of art for all of us to enjoy. Spring is always a time that we reflect on change and how things seem to suddenly "become new". Everything starts to feel alive again- the warmer gentle breezes start to blow, people begin hanging out on their porches, the smell of dinner on the grill begins to emerge, and spring rains usher in the budding trees and flowers.  Even if you don't love flowers and trees, you can't help but notice how bright and green the landscape starts to become around you and that has to make you feel happy.  

A few days back, Nate & I took advantage of the beautiful weather one evening and took an opportunity to stroll through some of the older neighborhoods in the city. To help give you a visual, we chose to walk in an area where a large number of million dollar+ homes abound complete with their timeless architecture, gorgeous manicured lawns, and the beauty of flower gardens and budding trees surrounding them. It really was a gorgeous area to walk in this time of year. 

Sometimes in life, it's nice to just take a little while to get away from the crazy, breathe some fresh air, smell the newly cut grass, watch the buds start to peek through and turn into flowering trees, and as they say- literally "stop to smell the roses"....or in our case, other flowers. I truly can appreciate the beauty of flowers and trees, but a green thumb the Lord did NOT give me. Seriously. He may have given me many abilities to which I am oh so thankful for, but He missed the green thumb one somewhere, which is too bad seeing how much I do enjoy flowers. Since I can't keep many flowers alive (at least not ones in my home it seems), I figured I could at least take photos of them while we walked. (this is the part where I thank Nate for being the patient husband that he is for all my "little stops" all along our walk...he has learned how to be patient whenever a camera happens to be in my hands...he has learned it can be a dangerous thing....oh the stories he could tell!)

So with that thought in mind, we decided to share just a little unedited glimpse into our reflective spring stroll.....

"For lo, the winter is past
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth:
the time of singing has come..."
Song of Solomon 2:11-12a

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; 
blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Psalm 34:7-9

"...be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, 
an offering and a sacrifice to God 
for a sweet-smelling aroma."

Ephesians 5:1-2

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 

My soul will be joyful in my God;

For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation...

For as the earth brings forth its bud,

as the garden causes the things that are 

sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will 
cause righteousness and praise to spring forth 

before all the nations."

Isaiah 61:10a-11

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, and no fruit be on the vines; 
though the labor 
of the olive may fail

and the fields yield no food; 

though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

and there be no herd in the stalls-

I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

"And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food."

Genesis 2:9a

"Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad;

let the sea roar and all its fulness;

let the field be joyful and all that is in it.

Then all of the trees of the woods 

will rejoice before the Lord."

Psalm 96:11-12

"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

I Chronicles 16:31

"Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, 

“The Lord be magnified!”

Psalm 40:16

"The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

We hope you are as excited about springtime as we are....and if you get the urge to take a little walk and enjoy the spring flowers, we highly recommend it.