life out of death.

i recently spotted a few flowers on a tree for the first time this spring. true story: i pulled my car over, got out, and snapped a pic of the baby blooms.

and the stunningly blue sky.

i thought my soul was going to burst. i know that sounds dramatic, but it's the absolute truth. i hopped back in my car and proceeded to drive around norman looking for more blooms (never mind the fact that i was originally in a rush to get to the grocery store). i had no idea how much my soul needed to see them, but once i did, i couldn't get enough of them. 

i needed to see life.

more specifically, i needed to see life coming out of death. living flowers out of branches that have been seemingly lifeless for months. come on, people. we can't act like this isn't a big deal. 

i couldn't get over it. just ask the friends we went to dinner with that night. spring was all i wanted to talk about. "i saw blooms on a tree today, y'all. there are flowers coming out of dead sticks. flowers, y'all. it's the most amazing thing. you've gotta see it." (i must have said this series of sentences at least five times... as if they've never seen flowers before. they were sweet to act excited.)

now, about two weeks later, i still can't get over it, even though the tons of bradford pears in norman (like the one pictured above) are covered in blooms. 

beautiful sight, unfortunate smell.

in romans 1.20, paul writes, "for his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made." i love how God knew we would need help knowing what he's like. i'm thankful he knew i would need reminder after reminder after reminder of who he is, so he created plants and trees and sky and wind. how kind and gracious is he?! how can you NOT see his eternal power and divine nature when everywhere you look this time of year LIFE is springing out of DEATH?!

this weekend we'll celebrate the ultimate story of eternal power and divine nature, the ultimate life coming out of death story. don't miss it, y'all. don't miss that all of creation is screaming this story right now. don't miss the opportunity to be overwhelmed all over again by the story of jesus facing death and conquering it with life. he takes our sin and gives us righteousness, takes our grief and gives us joy, takes our weakness and gives us strength, takes our past and gives us hope, takes our darkness and gives us light.

it's a story worth not getting over. don't miss it.