Thursday, April 15, 2010

Springtime on Planet Earth

Driving home from Martha and Grady’s house last Saturday in Belmont, North Carolina, I was amazed at how the view had changed in only two days since I had made the trip up Interstate 85 for a short visit.

On Thursday, as I was driving northward, the air was cool and heavy with moisture of an impending front, and pine pollen was blowing around in clouds across the highway and median, whipping around the cars and trucks on the highway and giving the air a yellowish cast. As I got out of my car to fill up with gasoline in South Carolina, the chilly wind hit my hair, sending it wildly flying around my face, and I grabbed for my sweater that I had tossed onto the passenger seat. After filling my tank, I raced the clouds into North Carolina, and arrived at Martha and Grady’s home less than an hour before the first rain shower of the day passed through.

Saturday morning, the day for driving home, dawned sunny and brisk. The rain had washed away the pine pollen from the ground and the air, and the world seemed to sparkle with brightness. It promised to be a beautiful day.

What hit me as I drove down the highway was how much brighter and greener the world had become since Thursday morning. Where there was only a hint of new life in the tree branches two days earlier, they now graced an array of shades of tender green, set against the dark green needles of the pine trees. Bright pinks, whites and purples decorated the scenery, as springtime brought out her finery in redbud blossoms, dogwood blooms, and drapes of lavender wisteria vines. And the sky – what a vivid blue! White fluffy clouds decorated the sky, and the contrast of blue, white and green took my breath away. The rain had washed away all hints of the yellowness of two days earlier.

In spite of the heavy traffic and the noise of the highway, Mother Nature ruled the morning. As I drove along, soaking in all of the visual beauty of the morning, I thought about our wonderful planet, Earth. In my mind, I tried to imagine what it must have looked like before the age of interstates, factories, and cities. How I wished I could travel back in time to take a glimpse of the world when it was fresh and unspoiled. I wondered if the first inhabitants of this part of my world marveled at the spring flowers, the azure sky, and the budding leaves on the trees. Did they suffer from the pollen? Were they as happy as we were to watch the rain wash away the yellow dust from the earth? Did they stop in their tracks to follow a puffy white cloud cross the sky, changing shape as it traversed the blue canopy? Did they breathe deeply of the wisteria blossoms and pick a few wild flowers to grace their homes? Did they appreciate the miracle of new life in our planet’s springtime?

My imagination kept me company along the trip home, and before I knew it, I was pulling into my own driveway, only to see my strawberry patch loaded with white blossoms and the promise of luscious berries in a few weeks. I prayed a quick prayer of thanksgiving for all of the blessings and beauty of the earth, my home.

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