There are signs of new life everywhere I look.  Daffodils are suddenly in full bloom.  Tulips are just starting to emerge from the once frozen earth.   Immature golden finches grace our bird feeders. New leaves are beginning to bud out on trees all over the city.  The Bradford Pears, Cherry Blossoms, and Japanese Tulip Trees are in full bloom.  And one of my all time favorite signs of spring– the thirty little lambs that follow closely behind their moms that I pass on a daily basis. 

I did not know it, but apparently I have been in a funk for the last few months.  I did not realize I had been in a funk until day light savings time occurred last weekend.  I literally could feel my spirits lift almost instantaneously as the rhythm of life that we love returned.  That rhythm of life that includes being outside every possible minute to play, to work in the yard, to grill, and to just soak in nature.  I missed the outdoors more than ever this winter.  It is hard to convince yourself to bundle up a newborn and take them outside
“to play” in twenty degree weather.  I did not know how much I had missed the outdoors, the color on the plants, flowers, and trees, and the activities that often energize us until we were able to experience all this again this past week.

Looking back, I realize I was getting pretty desperate for signs of new life a midst the grayness of winter.   I needed to see signs that new life would emerge again.  I know new life always emerges again.  My faith teaches me that with the great cycle of the Paschal Mystery.  My own experience teaches me that also.

It seems the signs of new life appeared suddenly, and now the growth that we are witnessing right now in nature cannot be held back.  All of the months of hibernation and internal growth are ready to burst forth and bloom.  This happens so often in our lives also.  Winter comes in our lives.  We hibernate.  We die to something.  We go through a period of internal growth.  Suddenly, though, God springs spring upon us, and we did not even know it was coming.

All I know is that I am very thankful for spring this year!  I am ready to embrace the moment of growth and blooming both in my life and in nature! Are you?

What signs of new life are in your life? What is emerging?
Has God given us a spring moment in our life that surprised us?
As we emerge from our winter hibernation, what do we look forward to and pray for?
What is the grace we seek in this new season of our lives?

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.