Who would guess...

One of the most magnificent things about the gardens is that, eventually, no matter what kind of winter we have endured, they come alive again each spring. The gardeners and garden club always see to it that there is always some color scattered about, but the true heralds of the coming color are the camellias. Not just one kind, but tiny to enormous, stark white to deep red, perfectly proportioned to infinitely ruffled.

What would we do without so much variety in our lives, and what better model than nature to bring it to our attention. One thing affecting life in our family right now is the change in relationships. Some that we thought were good, or even the best, for years (and some were...) are now changing, and that is troublesome for those who have not experienced the cycle before. It is hard to assure those encountering it that all will be well in the end. Sometimes watching the "bloom" fade is the hardest part, but it can give way to glorious new growth. Or sometimes, after seeing the wealth of many choices, we crystalize in our minds the qualities that we most value over time, and we search for more and better examples of those.

In nature, the process goes by quickly from season to season, but in life, the transitions can be so slow that we get a bit blindsided when they come to a recognizable change of direction. That's when we really need faith...