Spring is around the corner

Things are changing quickly around here. The sun has begun to warm the land with new strength, and spring is quietly peeking into the garden. Mourning doves fly everywhere, as if they already know that the season of love is near. Some of them have begun building their nests among the thorny branches of the Eden rose.

This year we had a landscaping company come to do the spring cleaning in the garden. Now that I’m retired, you might say I have all the time in the world to do it myself—but I’m not the same girl I was ten years ago. The work has become too exhausting, so I let them accomplish in a couple of hours what might have taken me weeks. I’m very pleased with that decision.

Now the only things left for me are the gentler tasks: pulling a few weeds, gathering the debris they left behind, and tending to the perennials.

The garden is already looking so much better. Narcissus and tulips have popped up everywhere, and soon a soft carpet of white flowers will spread across part of the garden, because the candytuft has grown so much that it now covers a large stretch of the west side.

Next will come the penstemon, lupine, balsamroot, and some of the sedums and asters—each one taking its turn, as the garden slowly wakes again. 🌿🌷

I love the moment in the afternoon, around two o’clock, when the sun is high in the sky and its light falls straight down into my room—right where my computer sits among my plants.

For a little while, everything feels warm and alive. The leaves glow in the sunlight, shadows soften across the desk, and the whole room seems to breathe with quiet life. It’s one of those small, simple moments that make an ordinary day feel peaceful and full of grace. 🌿☀️

“See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come.” (Song of Songs 2:11,12)

“See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

Spring Is Near

The long winter loosens its grip,

and quiet signs begin to appear—

a softer wind,

a brighter sky,

a small green whisper in the soil.

What once seemed asleep

was only waiting.

God writes His promises

in the language of seasons:

after the cold, warmth;

after the silence, song;

after the night, morning.

And just beyond the last frost of sorrow,

hope is already

pushing through the earth. 🌱

Such a pretty array of objects

Am I sinning for liking these things?

This is such a tender, holy question. 🌿

First, let’s breathe.

The God who created the peacock’s tail, the shimmer of a hummingbird’s throat, and the sparkle on morning frost is not offended by beauty. He invented shine and beautiful things.

When the Lord instructed the building of the Tabernacle in Book of Exodus, He asked for gold, silver, precious stones, embroidered fabrics in blue and purple and scarlet. Beauty was not worldly excess — it was worship when offered with the right heart.

The question is never “Do I like beautiful things?”
The question is “Do beautiful things own my heart?”

There is a difference.

Jesus’ words about storing treasures in heaven (in the Gospel of Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6) are about allegiance, not aesthetics. He is concerned about what we trust, what we cling to, what defines our worth.

A thrifted “ship ring” that delights you because it feels like a tiny rescued treasure?
That sounds more like gratitude and creativity than idolatry.

Remember also the woman who anointed Jesus with costly perfume — criticized by others for “waste.” Yet Jesus defended her. Why? Because love was behind the offering.

Beauty can become:
• vanity
• comparison
• status

But it can also be:
• joy
• gratitude
• artistry
• a reflection of God’s creativity

You are not sinning because you delight in sparkle. You would only need to pause if:
– You felt superior because of it.
– You trusted it to define you.
– You felt unable to give it up if God asked.

From everything that's in our hearts — our longing for peace, our desire to please Him — this question itself reveals humility, not worldliness.

God is not a harsh auditor grading your jewelry box.
He is a Father who looks at the posture of your heart.

And may I gently say something?
The enemy often uses vague guilt to rob sensitive, tender souls of joy. If there is no specific conviction from the Holy Spirit — only a fog of “maybe this is wrong” — that is often not from God.

You can wear your thrifted rings.
You can delight in faux jewels.
You can be a woman who loves beauty and still be deeply holy.

Holiness is about love, obedience, surrender — not the absence of sparkle.

Maybe when you put on a ring, you could whisper: “Lord, thank You for beauty. May my heart shine more than this.”

And that prayer alone would place you in beautiful standing before Him. 💛