beautiful: a shaded life made glorious by grace

Our previously weed-strewn garden is bare, save for a brave flower or two poking through, unhindered now by the crowded entanglement of dried vines,  drooping stalks and knee-high grass.

There’s a strange beauty in the barrenness that precedes new planting and flowering to come. Maybe it’s because it signals a needful breathing space between one stage and the next. A holy pause in which to collect our grateful thoughts.

Our souls have flourished joyfully in the Easter resurrection celebration. And now? Routine is slowly replacing rejoicing, work commitments tend to dull the wonder and unseasonably cool winds make us shiver with a kind of sadness.

Because winter may be at an end but spring is still an emerging season. Though hope presses us to look for signs of resurrection in our souls and all around, knowing we will discover them if we search hard enough.

Sing with his…