Walk With Me

Stretched across the lawn at the top of the first little hill

I find shadows

thrown gently across the lawn.

Early evening sun and an iron gate. 

The simplicity touches me.

The first glimpse of the pond at the  bottom of the hill

tells the story of the season.

Light, water, ice.

Warmth and chill playing tug of war.

And I wonder, as I walk and ponder the season's transition,

what is pulling at me?

I pray for new-borns and families that are dear to me.

I pray for friends who have suffered great loss this week.

Some of us striving to hold on,

others struggling to let go.

Today, witnessing the earth's tug of war.

I find surrender....

'To every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.'

The wooded paths stretch out before me

and the sun plays with every leaf, every branch.

It's along this part of the path that I see a little boy let go of his mom's hand

and begin to toddle towards me.

"Daddy! Daddy!" he shouts as he scoots past me and jumps into his dad's arms.

For just a few short seconds I'm allowed to share in this - his pure joy.

Around the next bend, the brush clears and the path cuts across the pond.

The water is very high right now, 

rippling boisterously towards the edge of both sides of my path.

Turning to face the sun,

it's the wind that hits my face.

Not the light or the warmth,

but a blustery, chilly wind.

I stand very still for several minutes and just let it all wash over me.

Just to my right?

A delicious, sun kissed birch.

And right above me?

BUDS!

Feathery, small, reddish buds that weren't there two days ago.

Each tree with a story to tell.

Each tree responding to the sun's warmth in it's own time.

'Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.'

Emerson

As I turn for one last look at the sun setting over the water

I see a hawk hovering in the sky

focused intently on the something in the waters below.

While I'm watching him (her?)

my brother calls. 

It's his birthday, and we both wish we were hanging out together today.

But he's in the Hawaiian surf, and I'm walking the pond.

Later on,

when I texted him this photo to show him what I was looking at when he called,

he texted back,

"Kind of nice to think that it's the same sun."

I left work dragging my feet.

I left the pond renewed.

Linking up with

Bigger Picture Blogs