A Year of Gratitude – April 12, 2024
We have almost arrived to the time of year when I will be able to walk outside the door of the mud room and find my gratitude at my feet. One of our perennial beds is right outside that door and it will be filled with blooms instead of the blanket of snow that covers it all winter long.
I am so looking forward to discovering new blooms each day, to beginning the day by surveying our gardens and finding new blooms and growth to enjoy. It’s such a wonderful way to begin the day. I may not be a morning person, but I am certainly a person who’s morning is made when I find a glorious bloom has appeared.
We still have a bit of time to wait. Yet my soul is ready and waiting rather impatiently. So, imagine the delight I felt when I stepped outside this morning and caught a glimpse of this hyacinth to my right. It is the first to make an appearance and I couldn’t wait to set down my farm chore gear to take a closer look.
The return of a flower amazes me, even after all of these years of gardening. It really is a miracle that a bulb, seed, or root can be dormant through bitterly cold weather for months at a time and then summon the strength to emerge from the soil when it warms just enough to release it from its wintry grasp.
These flowers are so delicate yet so strong. They could be snapped in half with little effort. They would have to wait an entire year to return on new stems. Yet here they are, enduring heavy rains, windy days, and all the obstacles and challenges that nature throws at them. Somehow, they find the strength to bloom and make the world a more beautiful place.
Maybe I love to garden because it helps me to see the world in a more hopeful way. Perhaps I like to be reminded that we are both delicate and strong, that we are resilient even when we feel hurt and injured by the world. We are much like this flower, trying to turn ourselves towards the sun, hoping that spring will arrive and bring better days.
When we are broken, we try to gather our strength and find the courage to emerge again. Yet it takes so much energy that we often need time to regain the strength and courage to do so. It isn’t easy. It doesn’t happen quickly.
This gardener is ready for spring both in our gardens and in myself. I am ready to try and gather the strength to bloom and turn myself towards the warm sunshine. I’m so glad that this hyacinth is too. It gives me hope that spring is really on the way.
This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.