The trees are coming into leaf/
Like something almost being said/
.../
Last year is dead, they seem to say/
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

The Trees (extract), Philip Larkin

Curling grass

You must be born again (John 3:7) But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. (Romans 1:20, The Message)

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said; ..
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh
The Trees (extract), Philip Larkin

My head has been in winter. I am now looking around and noticing the God-given swell of new beginnings. We may feel that our personal history strangles or paralyses us yet God’s broom sweeping nature anew can also take us with it, if we so choose. We are on the lip of Spring and the thought comes to me, Is there a gentle and quiet reminder emerging from the soil and the tips of the trees? Is nature (God’s big book said the Celtic saints) whispering Freshness, Greenness, the Unfurling of life towards it Source? Do I need to be reminded afresh of the hope that is in redemption, renewal, and a new start? Maybe things don’t have to stay stuck or petrified. Maybe I can allow my soul to uncurl and unfurl towards God and trust for what might yet be?…. Behold I make all things new.