I love this time of year.

I was convinced last week that one of my forsythia bushes had died over the winter; it was brown and brittle and lifeless.  Forsythia’s remind me of my mother, she loved them and used them in her early spring bouquets.  And they are often the first bush to bloom in the spring.

So went I went out in the sunshine yesterday to do another inspection, I was thrilled to see the transformation… little bumps pushing out, promises of buds!  It has been so cold this year, and everything is late.  But in the dark and cold, life waited to burst forth… and soon I will see those beautiful yellow flowers!

When I was choosing words for this Lent season, it seemed so appropriate to include the word transformation.  Easter is about new life, renewal, hope of resurrection, and the celebration of the resurrected Lord.  But first there is the waiting, and sometimes groaning, and the learning, and the wondering… often in the dark.

I believe we can have seasons of transformation in our lives, as we learn and grow and move through cycles of our lives… I know that in my early fifties I experienced a deep transformation and renewal that was life-changing.  As I look back, this time was preceded by an intense time of brokenness, searching and surrender to the One who created me. There was a choosing to trust.

Life is never stagnant.  We are always faced with choices.  Responses to what is in our lives.  We can choose to react or respond… to grow, or to become stagnant.  
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”, the apostle Paul says in Romans 12.  For me, transformation includes praying the prayer that never fails, “Your Will be Done.”, knowing God loves us deeply.
As the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, do you think it is surprised by beauty, by freedom?  As we are transformed, renewed, there is new life!
I wrote this little poem this week as I pondered these things:
Today
is always
a new beginning.
 
Life doesn’t stand still.
Do I flow
with the movement
that is my life?
 
Allowing the Creator
to fill
   to renew
      to restore
           to gently lead
 
As I move forward…
   not alone!
      to the next step.
  <3 Grace

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