Springtime!

It's springtime here in Texas. I love it. It shouts of renewal and restoration. I love to walk around my yard and see the new growth of plants long dormant. It's always fun to see what will come back and thrive all the more for the long rest it's experienced. And...I get to dig in the dirt! I love to dig in the dirt. I don't know what it is about it but it makes me feel connected to the earth. Amazing things are going on down under the surface of this planet. Worms are one of the things that intrigue me. Grub worms make me crazy. But real worms, the ones that make the soil richer, are awesome. And roly polys - they actually live in the dirt. I keep digging them up. I wonder what all the creatures think when they're down there doing what they do and the next thing they know there's the sunlight and they're being lifted up and turned over. It must be a shock. I hope they don't mind it too much.

That makes me think of us. Have you ever been going along just fine and all of a sudden you're whole world turns upside down? That's what happened to me in November of 1999. I was going along just fine. I was relatively happy in the dirt I called my life. Only God had other plans. He wanted to uproot some of the things that were tying me down and making me ineffective for the plan He had for my life. He did this through a 3 day weekend retreat called the Walk to Emmaus. I know some of you have participated in this event or one like it and some of you never will. Either way - whatever is right for you is right for you. For me, it took something to rock my world because I was all too content to live in a dormant state. The darkness suited me just fine. That is until I saw the light. And since then I have not wanted to be in the dark anymore - ever again. Oh, there were days when I thought I remembered how nice it had been in the dark - how comfortable I had been there. But these days I look back and I wonder how I ever survived living like that - holed up and afraid of just about everyone and everything. I wouldn't go back there for all the money in the world. In fact, I'd give up everything I have to not go back there. That's how important freedom and knowing I am loved is to me. It is the number one reason I live today - to share that knowledge with anyone God decides I need to share it with.

I guess that's why I have this blog. I can put anything on here I want and you can read it if you'd like or not if you don't like. But this is one place I can share my heart. And I am grateful for this place and for all of you who take the time to read and occasionally comment. You're amazing. I can't tell you how much I love having you here. Thank you.

And now, I'm going to go free some more plants from the weeds that stunt them, all the while thanking God for freeing me.