Spring carries with her a basket of sweet-smelling fresh fruits. She weaves between the picnic-goers and the bankers and the homeless men with eyes that don’t see. Her scent follows behind joyously. She is no respecter of persons: the new buds are for everyone. Those tiny speckled eggs, this flower-spiced breeze, that quick rainfall—it is for the just and the unjust alike. And God smiles a bit more as He gives such good gifts.
A new season is officially in full bloom, and what a dazzling time to look for the presence and presents of a good God. Keep your eyes open for signs of life; even though we breathe the air of a fallen world, there are glimpses of glory all around us. Redemption fights back the dark in a beautiful leaf or a well-spoken word. Tear out an image from a magazine. Find a new recipe. Start up a fresh playlist. The world is your oyster, and God loves making pearls. So pry the top off of a clean mason jar and start collecting every bit of light you can get your hands on!
Some May gifts to point you toward
Crafty Thing: Washi Tape
In case you have thus far missed out on the wonders of cute decorative tape, that time is over. With so many festive patterns and textures (think bright pink glitter or lavender polka dots or pastel green speckles), there is no reason to have a boring anything! For a whole new world to open up to you, try this Pinterest search.
Book Passage: From Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila
“There is a secret place, a radiant sanctuary, as real as your own kitchen. More real than that. Constructed of the purest elements, overflowing with ten thousand beautiful things. Worlds within worlds. Forests, rivers, velvet coverlets thrown over featherbeds, fountains bubbling beneath a canopy of stars. Bountiful forests, universal libraries. A wine cellar offering an intoxication so sweet you will never be sober again. A clarity so complete you will never again forget. This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway… Believe the incredible truth that the Beloved has chosen for His dwelling place the core of your own being because that is the single most beautiful place in all of creation.”
Article: Tim Keller’s Serving Each Other Through Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Honestly, guys, this is probably the hardest gift I’ve pointed to so far. But healed relationships bring about a louder echo of the gospel than almost anything else in this world, so I needed to add it in here. Keller opens with the premise that “Christians in community are to never give up on one another, never give up on a relationship, and never write off another believer.” Sound idealistic and/or overwhelming? He lays out a beautifully thorough construct on how to implement this high call to radical love.
Playlist: Creative Juices on Spotify
This instrumental mix has been my home for the last week between flights and reading and getting stuff done. Next time you need to get pumped up for productivity, give it a listen!
Story Snippet: Grandpaw’s Phone
Because I’m all about pointing out ways that redemption shines through in our everyday lives, here’s a little personal blurb:
My Grandpaw is a farmer, cowboy, war veteran, and self-proclaimed “great great man” (only to be said with a twinkle in one’s eye and a theatrical voice). He has sported the old school flip phone for way too long now and has finally decided to make the daring leap to an iPhone. He now texts.
The fact that my Grandpaw would move into a brand-new sphere of being (easy for millennials who have never known a time without cell phones, but absolutely other for a man who grew up in the Depression), having to learn a foreign etiquette (e.g., not using all caps) and keeping everything straight, I see the courage we were meant for, a bit of the creation story peeking through. It’s so tempting for me to stick to what I know, what I’m comfortable with, what I’ve already mastered. But to see my Grandpaw push himself into the unknown makes me feel brave, too. And we all need a shot of that.
The Dwelling Place 
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