Whispering Winds Blog

Yesterday I picked our first bouquet of fresh flowers from the beds that surround Whispering Winds – an 18″ sprig of bright yellow forsythia standing tall above seven pale yellow daffodils. The fresh bouquet was the centerpiece in the living room for our hymn sing yesterday.

The day before, the daffodils weren’t open yet. The first stars of the landscape were the crocuses in full bloom.

Last week we grilled our first hamburgers and hotdogs of the season.

The week before, we saw our first robins return. Then I saw my favorite birds return – goldfinches.

The very first sign of spring was the return of the geese to our pond – when there was still a little ice on the pond.

All these firsts. They’re the same firsts we excitedly looked for last year, and I expect we’ll be just as excited next year then these firsts will appear for us again.

Why are we so excited to see exactly the same things again this year that we saw last year – and that we’ll see again next year? Crocuses. Daffodils. Pretty soon we’ll see the first tulips and lilacs. This week I’ll probably grill our first salmon burgers of the season.

Daffodils remind me of how much fun it is to have fresh-cut flowers in the house. Once the daffodils arrive, the process of cutting flowers should continue until the last roses of summer.

Robins and goldfinches remind me of long walks along country roads and listening to the joyful songs of the bird choruses.

The geese remind me of sitting out on the deck on a lazy summer afternoon and watching them peacefully float around the pond. I especially love to watch them while I’m waiting to flip the burgers on the grill out on the deck.

The annual repetition of all of nature’s seasonal firsts brings back such pleasant memories. These memories rekindle in us the anticipation of so many more of God’s blessings to come…

As I was thinking about all these springtime firsts this year, I thought of the hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth.” I entered those words into the search box on YouTube.com and discovered a beautiful new tune written by John Rutter for this hymn. Here’s the link to Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) choir singing it with beautiful images of nature to illustrate it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHIfRLNYUGw. “For the beauty of the earth … this our hymn of grateful praise.”

What are your favorite firsts of spring, or other firsts that are repeated annually. (Perhaps the first snowfall???) And, what do these firsts really signify for you?