It's a Miracle

How can anyone possibly not believe in resurrection, in new life, with
everything bursting into bloom here in North Carolina? My drive to
church has presented an ever- changing panorama of color over the
past few weeks, a delight to the eyes...a special joy when my both
my spirit and flesh are tired and in need of rejuvenation. And it
astounds me just how quickly it has happened. Not so very long ago,
the trees lining Highway 52 were bare, presenting their naked arms
to the sky- beautifully stark  but truly barren to the eye. And then-
pow! Leaf buds showing red and green...then unfolding into leaves of
every variety...redbuds and forsythia painting the landscape with
delicate hues of yellow and pale purple. And just this week, clouds
and crowds of dogwoods seemingly emerging out of nowhere, filling
the woodlands with their bridal-wreath white blossoms, dancing with
joy in the April breezes.

All around my neighborhood, flocks of azaleas are bedecking  yards
with their springtime finery- every shade of pink, red, even orange,
their overwhelming abundance enough to take the breath away
from this appreciative and delighted human creature.

Where did it all come from, this beauty, this majesty? And why do
we so often let it slip by unnoticed, unremarked upon, when in
reality, springtime is an annual miracle...one which should, I think,
elicit from each and all of us open-mouthed astonishment and
awe for the incredible gift so lavishly spread before us. As I
stood on my back deck in the spring rain today, watching a bright
red cardinal in the big oak tree, all I could think was, "My God,
how great thou art," and then just throw back my head and laugh
for the joy and wonder of it all.