Resurrection & Sweet Alyssum Sprouts

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“There is, and there continues to be, a resurrection.”

~ Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality

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Things that made me happy in April:

Purple clover

Freshly stacked wood and a yellow wheelbarrow

Orange juice in a jar

How Andrew Peterson puts words to spring, like: “The hills remember green again”

My Tuesday morning routine: coffee, write, check on the seedlings, run

A green field

Cold coffee and watching the ducks play in the clover

Lightning and low thunder at five-thirty a.m., the front door open to wind, the roar of the trash truck, and an umbrella at the bus stop

Good Friday sunset and volleyball with the neighbor kids

Dad’s breaded chicken and Mom’s sweet potatoes

Catching an afternoon Cardinals game with Mema

A long and sunny Saturday for potting, planting, herding ducks, and holding the neighbor kids’ bunnies

Sunburned shoulders

Wind in my ears on a bike

Pink Easter sunrise, blooming trees, greening grass, and a lone goose crossing the morning sky — creation written over with resurrection

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

A Sabbath afternoon for ham and sweet potatoes, swinging, fishing, cornhole, and kids in trees till after dark

Groceries and elderberry kombucha

Sweeping up breakfast and listening to Fernando Ortega

Marigolds, zinnia, and sweet alyssum sprouts in the greenhouse

Resale shopping and singing harmony in the car with Leanna and Janaya

“The Return of the King” in theater with old and new friends

Beautiful Lord of the Rings hardback books in the mail

Joel and Natalie playing guitar and harmonizing in the living room

Making sourdough loaves with the screen open, a breeze rustling the parchment paper on the counter

“Utah” by Arbour Season

A roadtrip through the greening hills of northern Arkansas

Dinner with Jared

Cows and flowers and driving out to see his church in the country

Eating kale right out of his grandparents’ garden

Stopping to see if a bee would land on him

Long walks and drives and conversations in the front porch rockers

Southern hospitality

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