It’s Coming, I Can Smell It

There is something about the way fresh cut grass helps encourage summer to come, at least in my mind. The smell brings me back to my childhood when the weekends were spent doing things outside. My parents perfected the routine of kicking the kids out in the morning knowing we would keep ourselves busy until the sun came down. If we were not playing and going on adventures with friends my mom would drag out the old lawn mower and place one of us behind it to mow our corner lot. The mowing wasn’t the only thing we had to do, there was edging the lawn and weeding the “garden”. Try as we may our garden had more weeds than flowers but what we did get to grow was resilient to say the least. Most weekends us kids escaped before we were put to work, but not always. Normally on our “work” days the day ended with a BBQ where we ate it outside.

By the time I went to college and had a house I shared with 5 other gals I was a pro at yard work. I didn’t always like it but when I took on the yard that surrounded our house it became more of a calming practice for me. I loved to get head phones in and just start mowing. For a college house we had a huge yard. There were pockets of flowers, trees everywhere and an environment that boasted rain and lots of it. The grass always needed to be mowed. The smell of the fresh cut grass calmed my sometimes turbulent spirit. I used the time outside monotonously going around and around to talk to God. There were in depth conversations as well as conversations about what I had going on for the day. I always seemed to get energized too. The sun has a way of doing that, especially if it hides behind clouds and coastal mist most days. The college I went to was known to have classes outside when the sun was out. It could be colder than snot but we would be out there, basking in the sun’s rays.

I don’t much mowing of our lawn now a days unless I am helping my hubby get caught up on chores. I am hoping that the garden my daughter and I are trying to grow will succeed. So far, the sprouts give me hope. It’s amazing how memories from our childhood can make everyday moments seem better. We get busy, life happens, we get overwhelmed with events around us. I stepped out from work today and found the yard was cut. Some sweet soul came and took care of the jungle that was growing up around our building and it smelled divine. The stress of the day melted just a little bit as I stood eyes closed letting the sun hit my face. We need these moments of peace. We need to stop and enjoy our surroundings. We were not made to go, go, go. God made the world around us so that we may enjoy it, use it for the needs we need met, and to take care of it. He did not make us to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, if he did the world around us wouldn’t be something for us to wonder at.

Wonder at the rays of the sun and the warmth they bring. Wonder at the fragrance of the flowers that pop up in the fields. Wonder at the way a bird can glide through the air but use the wind to get them to their destination with ease. Wonder at the way a storm can bring a double rainbow. Wonder at the way a fresh mowed lawn can make you want to pull out the lawn chairs and absorb the energy of the day. We are made to wonder, to enjoy and to praise God for the beauty of it all. Summer is right around the corner. I cannot wait to get “sun tired”. I cannot wait to step outside and not be cold. I cannot wait to stop and smell the grass…..oh and the flowers too. Until next time:

Butterflies cannot see their wings, but the rest of the world can. You. You are beautiful and while you may not see it, others can

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