Easter Morning

It's a gray, mild Sunday morning here at the farm, peaceful and still. Chris and Ellis are upstairs chatting away and I'm sitting in the big chair in the living room...just enjoying being...sitting down for what feels like the first time in days. We've been busy at home, but happy in our productivity and time together.

A late start this Easter morning didn't take us to church with my folks, as hoped, but this time to reflect and relax is really just the kind of "service" I needed. Lately I have been feeling more acutely - from joy and anticipation to anxiety and doubt. I think this comes with spring, with the dawning of another season of growth, in the soil and of the soul. I like to think of our household as similar to our garden...the first year was a bumper crop and we sure tended to that garden with tireless enthusiasm, having never tasted such amazing food. The second year, the garden expanded significantly and we experimented more, finding more failure and struggle but also more joy in learning. The third year we applied what we learned with the best of intentions, but still found ourselves blindsided by pests and mistakes. Though all along, every year, we relish in the true goodness of the fruits of our labor.

Today, I look at our snow-covered acres and smile, knowing that in just weeks we will scurry the boys outside in the mornings to discover green shoots rising from the soil and watch the growth throughout the season. I welcome this joy in creation and the undeniable beauty of new life. Happy, happy Easter.