Wisteria arbor in Willowwood Arboretum, New Jersey
The seasons are changing here. Last weekend, we had the opportunity to drive several states south to my cousin’s wedding (it was beautiful!) Along the way, we saw everything from land that saw snow within the last week to the beginning of summer. There were bare branches, buds, blossoms, and full leaves; brown grass, new green grass, fully-grown-and-mown-a-dozen-times grass; near-frozen puddles and lakes warm enough for swimming; there were daffodils, early wildflowers, late wildflowers, and summer flowers.
Wildflowers near Stanley Junction, New York
But through it all, there was the process of growth. The grass was growing, the trees were pushing out new leaves, fields were plowed or beginning to put out this year’s crop.
Spring on the Auburn Trail near Victor, New York
It made me think about growth in our own lives. Sometimes we know we are growing; other times it’s more subtle. Have you ever been so frustrated with where you are now, but you don’t know why or what to do about it? Chances are you’re growing into a new season and you don’t realize it yet.
Cold-desert Phlox along the Telescope Peak Trail in Death Valley National Park, California
Growth can be obvious – how many times have my brothers’ shoes not fit anymore? Other times it’s more subtle; you might not think about it until one day, you look back and realize, oh, I’ve grown so much!
Hikers waiting at the top of Lava Mountain for the rest of their hiking party, Wyoming
I haven’t noticed that the lawn was growing, but suddenly it was ready to mow for the first time this season. How did that happen? It snuck up on me, not because I wasn’t watching, but because it subtly happened in little shoots and tiny moments until it was about as full grown as I want it to get. (My favorite mower (named Jane) is strong, but she can only handle so much!)
Path between the grasses on Holden Beath, North Carolina
The noticeable growth is good, but in some ways the subtle growth is better. It makes you strong because it happens slowly, one step on top of the next, in tiny moments, until the growth is mature. Then you find the growth fully grown, buds and blossoms becoming leaves and bearing fruit in its season.
Wildflowers along the remains of a fence en route to Lava Mountain, Wyoming
So if you find yourself in a season of subtle growth – fear not, the maturity of your growth is coming, it just hasn’t arrived yet!
