I love springtime (allergies aside). Seeing the different flowers beginning to bloom, the varying colors of green on the trees, hearing the birds rejoice with their songs, seeing the rabbits and squirrels in the yard, and the warmer days with cooler evenings/mornings reminds me of hope. I think it’s why I’m so fascinated by the season: things spring to life.
Today I was walking over to the Chapel to gather items from Easter’s service and these little flowers caught my attention.
I’m a bit of an aspiring/amateur photographer; ie. I love taking pictures. So after I noticed them as I walked by, I had to go back and snap a quick photo with my cell phone. Here are these little flowers just blooming in the middle of some dirt, alongside some weeds, near the walkway to the Chapel. Just randomly coming up. For those of you who are gardeners, it might be obvious I don’t know much about plants, so if these are really weeds, at least they’re pretty. I’ll choose to believe they’re flowers though, because they reminded me again of hope.
Hope. I guess maybe it’s because I need a little dose of hope today. You see, I am the type of person who chooses to see the good in people. Maybe even to a fault. I was dealing with this little trait of mine today, even considering it a character flaw in myself. I mean, there are things others notice about people that I don’t even see. Some may call it being naïve, but the more I reflect on it, I once again choose to believe it’s not a flaw or naïveté, but rather a gift. A gift that comes with a price at times, yes, but a gift nonetheless. I would rather live with hope and joy than look for the negative in people. I choose to believe there is good and see it in someone, rather than look for the bad.
I choose hope.
Just like the little flowers I found on my walk, I want to be the one who flourishes even in the midst of the dirt and weeds. I want to be the one to look for the good and find it in others, even when it doesn’t appear there’s much good around. I want to be the one filled with hope, who offers that spirit of hope to others, even when negativity spreads much faster.
Since we just celebrated Resurrection Sunday and are in the season of Easter, I think it’s fitting to continue thinking of hope… to continue being mindful of the new life and the blessings around us… to look for good, even in the dirt and weeds of life. Don’t you?
