Welcoming Spring

Spring is my favorite season, which is why I chose to have my birthday in spring. (Insert winky face emoji here.) Granted, some might debate whether or not March 26 can be counted as spring in Michigan, but I’ve claimed the season for my birthday because of HOPE.

Michigan’s average temperature on March 26 is 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This means plenty of my birthdays have felt like the dead of winter, shocking us with below freezing temps that make frostbite more threatening than bulb blooms. Every now and then, though, I’ll wake up to a balmy birthday with sunshine kissing my skin and temperatures tiptoeing all the way up to 70 degrees as though they’re trying to sneak past the rules of latitude to give me a gift. The HOPE of those days, no matter how few and far between they have graced my birthday, is why I love turning older at the first crack of spring.

Spring is fresh and expansive. It invites me to throw my arms wide and expect something new to happen. It requires deep breaths to fill my lungs with air that has lost its frigid sting and which might be laced with hyacinth or lily of the valley. It gives me permission to dream of the long, sun-filled days ahead while asking for an account of the downtime of winter. The year still seems fresh and pregnant with plans made in the dark winter. A spring birthday feels like a perfect time for a big plate of “taking account” with a little “kick in the butt” on the side.

So please indulge me as I sit here in January and write a birthday letter to myself. It might not be your birthday (or maybe it is and we can celebrate together!), but it is your spring too, your time for new HOPE in what’s coming.

Dear Lori,

I hope this letter finds you well—still able to fit into your favorite jeans and maybe even with a fresh pedicure! I hope God surprises you with one of those rare and delicious 70-degree days that tempts you to get out the hammock and flip-flops!

 Your birthday is on a Sunday this year, which is always a day full of people at home. You will worship with your best friends and church family. I hope you soak it up and feel how special and rare it is to have kindred spirits of the soul. Smack them on the cheek with a kiss to say you’re crazy about them. The house will be full all afternoon with everybody and maybe a few more. This big Sunday dinner habit we’ve developed feels like a weekly party. Are you relishing it today or slipping into a Martha focus on all the work to be done? Scott’s probably grilling today since it’s sunny, so you’re good!

 Speaking of full houses, you are in the thick of it this year with four in high school. The schedule is a beautiful mess, and I suspect there still isn’t enough of you to go around. Are you conscious today of how fleeting this season of motherhood is? Are you remembering how different your calendar will look in a few short years? Relish this time! Soak it up! This is your summum bonum—cherish it! Run the race to the end, and trust God with the other priorities. There will be time for it all. God’s plans will not be thwarted in your life.

 In January you were setting goals for personal and spiritual growth. Have you looked at them lately? How much more do you know about what makes you tick and what makes you exactly what the kingdom of God needs right now? Have those things you’ve learned about yourself made you bolder and stronger? Have you offered them or are you shrinking back today? Don’t delay! Take today’s step, even on your birthday.

[Tweet “I hope you are staring straight into the face of your Savior.”]

 More than anything, I hope you are staring straight into the face of your Savior. I hope you are convinced of his absolute love and the impossibility of him being able to love you more, no matter how good a girl you are able to be. I hope your spirit isn’t striving, but resting there in awe.

 Be brave, my friend. Spring is here!

 All my love,

Lori

Lori Florida’s life is all about her people. She’s convinced that being Mrs. to one and Mommy to eight will be her most significant way to serve Jesus. She wants to use her life to cheer on and coach the women coming behind her. Lori blogs at loriflorida.com.

Photograph © Brooke Lark, used with permission