Kiersti Giron
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Home
  • About Kiersti
  • Books
  • Behind the Stories
  • Blog
  • Community
  • Contact
Search the site...
  • Home
  • faith
  • Spring

Spring

June 7, 2011 / Kiersti Giron / faith, growing, seasons
4

“When [Aslan] shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” ~ C.S. Lewis



I miss spring living here in southern California.

We don’t experience spring here in the way other places do. A few trees put out new leaves—but most have been green all winter long. A few more flowers bloom—but we had roses in October and camellias in January, so they don’t seem too special. Sometimes the weather is lovely and sunny with a soft breeze, but other times it is August-scorching or cold and cloudy. We rarely have “spring showers.”

The “perpetual spring” of California’s clime no doubt attracts many of its residents. But there is something I feel it lacks…for how can you appreciate spring when you have it all year long?

When my family lived in New Mexico for five years, we had spring. The frozen silence of brown fields and barren trees exploded to life with pink and snowy cloudbursts of blossom on the peach, apple, and apricot trees, with green frosting on alfalfa fields, pastures, and Navajo willow trees, with robins returning and tulips thrusting through the thawing earth. Baby goats bleated in the barnyard while new kittens squeaked from a box in the bathroom.

When I spent a college semester in Oxford, England, we had spring. Daffodils trumpeted Easter tidings in medieval graveyards of ancient stone churches (see photo above). Crocuses and snowdrops enraptured me…I had only met them before in books like The Secret Garden. Here they lifted purple cups and snowy bells in the farmer’s market, beside the English Faculty Library, through the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, and in neat squares of English gardens. I sang with the birds as I walked from our little row house to college, market, or library, thrilling to the message of Christ’s triumph over death preached so eloquently through His creation. No wonder C.S. Lewis wrote of Narnia turning to spring at Aslan’s approach.

And so, back “home” in California, I miss spring. Yet I am learning to remember that God created this climate, too. And while I may not feel the impact of spring here as in the other “home-places” of my heart, He is teaching me to appreciate the blessings of this place as well. The nearly year-round sunshine gives my elderly grandmother many happy hours sitting in its warmth. Nearly year-round flowers mean we can nearly always pluck one or two to brighten the day of a sick friend or family member.

After all, spring—and Easter and resurrection—don’t really matter unless they happen in our hearts. And in my heart, the Creator of all these is patiently teaching me, like the tulips and crocuses and snowdrops I love, to bloom where He has planted me for now.

4 comments on “Spring”

  1. Patty Wysong says:
    June 7, 2011 at 8:28 am

    Yes! That last paragraph is oh-so true, Kiersti!

    I spent 6 years in Ecuador and the weather was much like yours now–and I loved it, even though I missed the seasons.

    Loved your perspective on this!
    Hugs! and welcome to the blogging world!! =] =]

    Reply
  2. Rita Garcia says:
    June 7, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Maybe because I have always lived in So CA, I looove a day sitting with my toes squished into the warm sand, tapping the keys on my mini notebook! Enjoy your writing style–Congrats on your new blog! 🙂 Look forward to reading many more of your posts!

    Reply
  3. Kate says:
    June 7, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    I remember those 18 spring-less years of living in the LA area! I must confess that I really, really missed “weather” and the changing of the seasons. We have a bit more of that in the Bay area, but still. . . . Congrats on your blog–it looks great!

    Reply
  4. Kiersti says:
    June 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    Thank you so much, ladies, for all your sweet comments!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog Update Notifications

[subscribe2]

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Recent Posts

  • New Series with Lauraine Snelling! And The Story of How That Happened…

    June 8, 2021
  • Special Announcement: Sign Up for My Newsletter!

    November 19, 2020
  • Trusting God’s Timing: A Novel’s Journey (Guest Post and Giveaway with Lori Benton!)

    August 24, 2020
  • The Shaking: Of Arendelle, America, and Stepping toward Healing

    August 6, 2020
(c) 2013-2020 Kiersti Plog. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Website design and hosting by Rick Loe Creative Designs
Cleantalk Pixel