Tulips, daffodils, crocus and tiny new leaves on bare tree branches.  All the signs of spring and I am reveling in the unseasonably warm weather.  Yesterday I opened the windows of the house and last evening as I was washing the dishes I enjoyed the cool breeze wafting in through the open kitchen window.  It certainly enhanced my dish washing experience. 

I have loved spring since I was a little girl.  I loved seeing the brown grass turn green, the branches of the trees sprout new leaves, and the pansies reveal their smiling little faces.  But I especially loved seeing the tulips and daffodils poke their leaves up through the dirt and watching all the bright colors burst forth.  I lived in Holland, Michigan for a while as a child and the city takes its tulips seriously.  Bright swaths of tulips enveloped the city in the spring. 

My sisters front yard in Colorado is lined on both sides with lilac bushes.  When I lived near her I loved to pull up to her house in the spring.  As I stepped out of the car  when the lilacs were in bloom, my olfactory senses were entirely overwhelmed as my whole body was enveloped in the scent of lilacs.  

Last fall we moved into a house with an old lilac bush at the corner of the drive way.  The lilac bush was over grown and taking over the drive way.   I drive an old car, which I absolutely love, and I didn’t want the paint scratched.  Thank goodness for husbands…..he took the cutters and cut the abundant branches off the one side.  Now that it is spring and I can see just a few new leaves of growth on the lilac bush, my annoyance is gone and I can’t wait for the blooms to appear…..you will definitely find me standing next to the tree inhaling the scent of those beautiful flowers. 

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.”  I think sometimes we view Christianity and abiding in Christ as unattractive as a tree without its leaves.  Just kind of boring.  But when we abide in Christ, He sends forth the new leaves and creates the fruit in our lives.  With the fruit of Christ in our lives others will be drawn to us like I am to the lilac bush.    Daily God  shares His love with us, His joy, His kindness.  It is up to us to take those fruits and share them with others.