The Greenbelt is back!

Its that time of year again. Everything is turning green, the Mountain Laurel is in bloom with its grape koolaid fragrance, leaves are budding on the trees, and roses are starting to form buds. At the risk of repeating myself incessantly, I will go ahead and say that I LOVE the start of Spring. There is so much anticipation of what is to come, waiting and watching for each different variety of plant to bloom. The smells in the air and the intensity of color in nature just fill my senses and is an ever-present reminder of how much God loves us. Of course, its hard not to mention that Spring also mirrors the process that I am going through with pregnancy, waiting for my baby boy to grow and be born. That, along with the joy of seeing Evan and Benjamin frolic in these beautiful outdoors, makes this Spring about the best one that I can remember. As an added bonus, it came about a month earlier this year than last.

The other day Benjamin asked if we could take a walk out in the greenbelt. I can't believe how green it really is now. This summer it was so dry that we began to call it the "brownbelt". It was just a barren field of dried up weeds. Now, even before the official start of Spring, it is bursting with green. Its amazing how you take things for granted and when they are gone and come back, you appreciate them even more. That's how I think we are all feeling right now. This is a very visible example of God's faithfulness. For me it is another example of how God will make things more beautiful in the aftermath of something painful like the drought that we had last summer. On the other side of the pain is a deeper understanding of God's love and promise to never abandon us.

Today we took a walk in the greenbelt. Benjamin brought his backpack and his butterfly net. He received the net a year ago but caught nothing, as we hardly had any butterflies due to the drought. I am very proud to announce that he caught and released his first butterfly. By the looks of things all around us, he will have many more butterflies to catch this Spring!