Thought for April

On the last day of April I came across this short piece by Canadian journalist and writer Gregory Clark. It perfectly describes the scene that has been unfolding outside my windows this past month, as Spring inches her way forward.

When we think of the word power, we usually first think of electric current, engines, jet aircraft of some such marvel of the age. In our minds power has also something to do with big nations.

But there is another power that we can make ourselves aware of right now by going out in the back yard and looking around at the earth, the lawn, the beds, the trees. The power of a mysterious thing called life, as revealed this month in living nature, can, if you see it intelligently, make all the combined powers of man look pretty frivolous.

Down on the ground at your feet, within the one glance of your eyes, are a million fragile green pins. They are the new grass, so tiny, so fragile, so utterly weak you wonder the breeze does not destroy them. Up out of the beds, poke the tender nebs of what will soon be garden plants. So delicate, a raindrop should shatter them. On each tree, a million buds in every one of which the infant leaves are more delicate that then frailest tissue paper.

In the robin's and sparrow's nests, eggs of a fragility for which is there is no synonym. And in a week, nestlings, naked, too feeble to raise their heads, eyeless, ghastly in their weakness.

But in a stupendous rush, the power of life within four weeks will have tranfigured every living thing, every tree, every blade, every flower, every bird, every creature, into a force of radiant, raging, triumphant life that should leave us speechless in our humility.

The author doesn't say it here, but even more amazing than the show of life in Spring is the One behind it who orchestrates it all and cares for it all, day in and day out, season coming and season going... our God and Father is a great God.