Saturday, May 23, 2009

We have been blessed with an unusually warm spring this year and I think it must be my favorite time of year. Everything is bursting into a riot of color. Everywhere I look there is a sprout, bud or bloom. The many shades of green just energize the days. I ran across the following piece on Resurrection as it relates to Spring and I can't think of a better way to begin a day than with such a delightful read; hope you enjoy it.
Resurrection

"It is the Resurrection season, and the glad word itself shall be our theme today. We will simply say it over and over, and listen to the echoes which it raises among our thoughts. It is the word in which the twins Death and Life declare themselves to be not two, but one; and the echoes, although vague, must needs be strong and musical, and they will bring us hints from afar. Not all from afar, however: the echo which reaches us first, from the hills and fields, sounds near. Very beautiful, was it not? That picture of the opening springtime which I gathered from our Bible, catching here a glimpse and there a glimpse as it lies reflected in the song of psalmist and prophet, and of Jesus, who had so often watched it as a boy on the hills of Galilee. Doubtless He used to go out to gather early lilies and note the green garments of the fresh young grass. Ten million, million tiny strugglers on our hills and in our fields today are trying to show us that ours, too, is Holy Land. The flowers have begun to greet us in our walks, - dumb angels, with faces all ashine with the glad tidings that the Savior-season hath arisen.

And how nearly universal the Resurrection is! The green tide comes pouring up from the South, pressing over the hills and running through the river-valleys, and presently not one inch that can wear green but is bathed in the living glory. The trees, swelling with buds, set their brown nets in its path, and soon the meshes are full of crinkled leafage into their rooty arms, and the vines creep up their bodies. No secret place is left unvisited by Spring. The lone plant in a desert, the seed buried under a dead leaf in the wood or prisoned in the crevice of a city pavement feel the touch and turn to life again. Within the room of a sick girl, in a foul city garret, stands a solitary rose in an earthen pitcher, cut off, like a caged bird, from the companionship of kin. The Spring flying over, knows the spot, stops, and bids the plant and the sick one turn again to life and beauty. She works for no eyes. She works for all eyes. The green deep of the forests, the deep of your little parlor fernery, turning to a tropical jungle, - both are alike to her; and all her work is finished with equal exquisiteness."
W.C. Gannett

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Ah yes...new life, resurrection indeed! Beautiful post and lovely pictures!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Mel said...

Hi Fred! This post expresses my feelings about spring so perfectly that I'm going to stop trying to put my feelings in writing, and adopt this lovely little excerpt as my own... (with credit to the author for writing it, and credit to you for finding it and sharing it, of course...) :) Anyway, thanks so much for sharing this. Many blessings, joy and peace to you and yours, Dear Fred!

Mel said...

I also intended to say, your garden is beautiful and lovely, and I bet it smells divine! :)

FCB said...

Hi Trudy,
Nice to see your name pop up and I'm glad you stopped by. Thanks for your kind words and I'll look forward to visiting you again.
God bless,
Fred



Hi Mel,
I loved this as well but I hope you don't stop expressing your feelings about...... well, anything, but for now spring. It is such an inspiring time of year and I never tire of hearing peoples thoughts about this wonderful place we have been given to dwell. So keep those posts coming :)
Fred

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Fred:)

I am dazzled by the beauty of your garden. Lovely colors. Gorgeous flowers. This looks like a heaven on earth. Stunning, indeed!You are very lucky to have a portion of the paradise.

I admire the way in which Resurrection is compared to spring time. Comparing flowers to dumb angels is wonderful allegory.

This author W.C. GANNETT from whom you have taken this paragraph is a great writer with fantastic skill. The words just flows and rivets my attention.

Many thanks for sharing:)
Joseph

FCB said...

Hi Joseph,
Thanks for your comments and I'm glad you liked the piece on resurrection, thought you would :)
Thanks for your compliment on my garden, it truly is my little piece of paradise. My grandfather and my father both earned a living in the family nursery. So they instilled in me the love of flowers, (and the hate of weeds) from an early age.
I'm afraid much of my truancy on my blog is because of my garden.
God bless,
Fred