Spring is made for the outdoors. It seems everything that inspires us has its beginnings outside. Whether you hunt, fish, hike, bike, run, play sports, garden, or simply mow your grass, it feels empowering to engage in all of these under the clear skies and in the clean air of springtime. While fall will mesmerize us with its panoramas, spring will motivate us with its pursuits. It is the season of life and the preparation which comes with it. The birds will build their nests; the animals will give birth to their young; and the trees and plants will unfold their blankets of green that perfectly match a sparkling blue sky. It is a painting that has been supernaturally brushed. A few mornings of late, I have been able to observe the wakening of the day. I have stood on a hill as the sun begins to rise, listening for the familiar sound of a gobbling turkey. His alarm might be the loudest, but it is not the only sound that comes from the surrounding woods. After a few days of listening, one can almost predict the order in which each creature will make itself known. The smaller birds will be the first to sing their songs. The tom turkey, along with a distant rooster from a nearby farm will gobble and crow respectively. And then a few minutes later the caw of the crow will officially open the door for a new day. And I am there to watch….and listen.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle for obtaining answers is not in research, but in observation. It is not in being surrounded with much, but little. It is not in being overwhelmed with possibilities but in being overcome with simplicity. It is being reminded that we have been given two eyes, two ears, and only one mouth – and while our eyes and ears are open during our most productive times, our mouth is closed except for an occasional moment when it is dropped open in awe from something our eyes and ears have just witnessed. I don’t understand everything about God. There are some deep and difficult questions that linger within the minds of every honest believer and even every honest skeptic. But I do know that deep within the heart of each of us, is a longing to find out if there is a God and what he is like. And every spring, I am reminded again as I stand with eyes and ears open, and mouth gaped in amazement, that He is a God of life and that while I have no promise of the quality or quantity of my days on earth, I can clearly see through creation, one day there will be a new morning that will give way to a new life.
Gary Miller