spring...again

It is Spring. It is also Holy Week. So you'd think I'd have put a Scripture passage with this classic image, rich with Paschal significance. Nope. That's not where my muse took me this time.

My mind was a mixture of thoughts and feelings as I shot this tiny crocus...tentatively, bravely, humbly rising up on the first day of spring in a little urban garden in northwest Denver. I saw it as a sign: of spring. And hope. And new life. You know, the usual stuff.

But the more I thought about it, the more I sensed something deeper within this iconic image: the cyclical, repetitive nature of it all. And how it is tied to God's unending mercy. We can count on the return of spring, heralded by this tiny little flower, no matter how bleak the winter preceding it...every year. And we can count on God's loving mercy, no matter how bleak our situation...every time. Again and again, we stumble and fall. Again and again, He forgives and absolves...when we accept His mercy.

Fitting this image with a caption was the hardest part of this post. I knew what I was looking for, but I couldn't quite put it into words. It was more a feeling than a thought. After searching in vain for much of the day yesterday nothing seemed to say what I wanted it to say. I almost gave up on the whole thing. Then I googled one more time: 'spring quotes.' Almost magically, a 'secular' bit of prose from a favorite poet appeared...to illustrate - to me at least - the seemingly cyclical, repetitive nature of God's loving mercy that is at the core of Christianity. This is our path to Eternal Life, which Christ died for, and then rose again, showing us the way...

An artist's highest calling is allowing God to communicate through him. The gift of creativity. I immediately saw it in Her Rilke's little verse. I can only hope that I accomplish it through my own work.

According to His great mercy,

He has caused us to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection of

Jesus Christ

from the dead.

1 Peter 1:3

xoxo

Cindy

Linking up with Beyond Beyond and Texture Tuesday. I texturized with Kim's kk_naturally, coolgrunge, and musiclight, and used one of my new favorite fonts, Matilde.