The Time. . . .

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land (Song of Solomon 2:12 King James Bible)

Here in North Carolina we are seeing the bulbs pop up and bloom, birds cavorting, trees beginning to swell with buds that will soon burst forth with beautiful spring green leaves. It's getting warm. Today it was 70 degrees here. A trifling breeze was reminding us that winter is not yet gone, but enough sun shine to tell us that spring is just around the corner. In fact, there are only about three more days before it is officially here.

What can I say that poets and gloriously gifted authors have not already said and said it much more eloquently than I can even begin to express? But let's do say that spring is a glorious time of the year. It is a time of new beginnings. A time to burst forth with joy and newness. A time of color and warmth. A time to smile. A time for your heart to dance and your soul to rejoice.

Solomon says simply that "the flowers appear" and the "singing of birds is come." Simply said. But profound in impact and implication. How many flowers appear and in how many colors and how many shapes and sizes? How many different types and sounds of song come forth from the birds? We can not humanly imagine how diverse these two are - flowers and birds. The variety simply goes on and on and on.

But what we can as humans do is to rejoice at the sight of a beautiful flower as it unfurls its petals or feel in our heart the joy that resounds with the lilt of bird song wafting on the air.