Spring is a time of renewal. New Year’s and the resolutions we make are marked by the same day each year: Jan. 1. Spring on the other hand can come at any time. The calendar may say that March 20 is the first day of spring, but what we actually see out our window may be a very different date for spring’s actual arrival. This year when there was still snow on the ground, I was excited to hear a woodpecker on a morning walk. My husband a few days later saw a robin. Yesterday, I noticed some buds on a tree outside the living room window. Spring doesn’t come suddenly on a day, it progresses more slowly in stages.
We have a daily study called “Come Follow Me.” One day in March, as I listened to the “Come Follow Me” narrative for the week, one of the passages struck me as something I needed to hear and implement more in my life. The parables of Jesus are being studied in March and April. The narrative said “as we prepare to study the Savior’s parable-or any of His teachings-a good place to start is to examine our hearts and determine whether we are giving the word of God “good ground” in which to grow, blossom, flourish and produce fruit that will bless us and our families…”Matthew 13:8.
This passage made me look at my past few weeks and analyze how I was taking care of my ground. I realized that I needed to take some time to nourish my ground, to make it good, to make my ground better. What better time than spring to look inside each of us and evaluate our ground, our soul, our peace. I realized that over winter I had neglected some of my habits that needed replenishment. I needed to nourish my ground. Time to meditate, to destress, to study scripture, to take a long run, walk or hike, to find peace, to serve others outside myself. Just as spring arrives slowly in stages, so does our progress in giving the word of God good ground to grow inside us.
What often brings us hope in days before spring is the promise of a sunny day, of warmer weather to come. Hope for blossoms and turning the soil for a garden. That first woodpecker, the hum of a hummingbird, the crocus’ that peek their heads out of the frozen ground, the longer daylight hours. As you notice the signs of spring coming alive around you, perhaps you could take a moment to think about your ground and how to make it better, to make it good to be ready for a vibrant and flourishing spring. Maybe a look at how to make a relationship better, a time to meditate and take care of yourself, I few moments to think on the goals and other ways you can nourish your ground and make it better, studying the word of God, improving your ground. May we all enrich our good ground as spring comes this year and improve our lives and the lives of those around us.
• Donna Leigh is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Living & Growing” is a weekly column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders. It appears every Friday on the Juneau Empire’s Faith page.
