Spirit of Life, Spirit of Beauty and of Springtime:
Now is the time when the weather is unsettled,
with showers following sun following rain
and treetops dancing wildly in the wind.
Between rainstorms there is often a day
of sunshine and towering white clouds
when we can roll along in town
and see the little bells of cherry blossoms
hanging from their twigs and branches
so sweetly they make us want to weep
and the camellias so perfectly formed
among their waxy leaves
and the brash forsythia
loudly proclaiming spring.
And we can roll along through the woods
and hear birdsong filling the air
and see the fairy lanterns
nodding on the embankment
and imagine the little folk who came before
and tell stories about them to the children.
Each hollow at the base of a tree becomes a house
for a fairy or a gnome or the Little Fur Child
and we go looking for them together
in the dark and sunny woods
until the sky grows wild and red.
We need time like this:
time between storms.
Time when we rest
from all that disturbs our sleep,
time to sing songs of love
and eat chocolate cake
and lie with our beloved
and cuddle our pets
and play with our children
and take a hot bath:
time between storms.
Spirit of Life, Spirit of Joy and of Springtime:
Help us know that this kind of time
is not a luxury we must earn.
It is not something we must only indulge in
when the work of healing the world
is complete—
no, it is part of the healing.
This is why keeping the Sabbath
is one of the ten commandments.
Help us claim our time between storms.
Help us enjoy our rest.
Blessed be.
(With thanks to Margaret Wise Brown’s The Little Fur Family.)