Monday, May 13, 2013

SPRING IS IN THE AIR?


Spring is in the air...

…and on the ground.

I am enjoying watching Spring unfold up here in the mountains.

I've welcomed some of my favorite creatures back – the playful chipmunks and squirrels, the friendly deer, the chirping birds…

"The Hub" was delighted to see his first snake of the seasona huge gopher snake – crossing the road.  Remember, he is The Great Reptile Wrangler.  And though he didn't catch this one, his tongs are ready, and his tongue is wagging at the prospect.

I prefer the cute creatures.

But, of course, there are the "other" guys.

This Spring we have been inundated with creepy, crawly things that I call *snizards*.  Snizards are these girthy lizards that actually look like snakes with arms and legs.  They are gross.

Unless you're a Kimodo Dragon – then you might think they were adorable babies.

As a rule, lizards don't bother me much.  I'm much more unnerved by jumping things like frogs.  (Chalk that up to a traumatic incident when I was a child – and had to walk across a dry creek bed while billions of little frogs jumped up all over my legs and feet).

These snizards are more than mere lizards.

They are HUGE.  Even "The Hub" admits it.  (Steroids in the off season?) And, they're pretty fearless.  They don't run away like the little guys do.  And they're kinda slimy too.  But, they’re not salamanders – (which are amphibians – and frogs are amphibians – so you understand my abhorrence of slimy things).

I'd do some research on them, and try to figure out what they are – but that would require me looking at endless pictures of lizards on my laptop – and that might be traumatic.

Oh, did I mention?  

These guys are also pretty cocky.  I see them outside all the time, basking in the sun on top of a boulder, doing their little "push-ups."  It's like my backyard has turned into a reptilian Muscle Beach.

This is not my idea of Spring.

I picture Easter bonnets, and flowers in bloom, and pretty things.  Cute mammals and birds – fur and feathers – no scales.

But, here is the truth of the season.

EVERYBODY comes out of hiding.

The birds, and deer, the chipmunks and squirrels – and the snakes and snizards.  The cute and cuddly – and the creepy.

It got me thinking.

We talk about the seasons of life.  We talk about spiritual *seasons*, too. Seasons of winter when we are in a stark and lonely place in our souls.  Or summer, when the warm blessings of God and His bright sun seems to shine on everything.  Or maybe even autumn, when we are in a season of waiting, perhaps.  

But, springtime…well, I always think of spiritual Spring as a time of new beginnings.  Of the excitement of new growth, and new opportunities, new adventures, and new goals.  A time to have sleeping dreams come alive.

I think of it as a happy time.

However, as I contemplate the snizards, I think of something else…

A season of spiritual rebirth might not be all flowers and sunshine.

It might not be all about fur and feathers.

It might involve some scales.

In fact, it might involve God tearing some scales off of my crusty and previously-hibernating self.

I am reminded of my favorite scene from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis.  A rather unpleasant and boorish boy named Eustace finds himself in a bind.  In his selfishness, he has turned into a dragon.  But, finding himself in agonizing pain, he is desperate to shed his "dragonness."

He scratches and claws himself, frantically trying to shed his scales like a snake skin.  He tries it three times, to no avail.  He begins to fear that he will never be rid of the scales.

Finally, Aslan (the great lion who is a figure of Jesus) tells him:

"You will have to let me undress you."

Eustace tells the story:

"I was so afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back and let him do it.  The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart.  And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off."  


This is what I'm thinking re-birth is like sometimes.

Yes, sometimes it happens like a seedling bursting through the dirt into bloom.  Sometimes it's like the fulfilling work of nest-building.

Sometimes, it's joyful and playful.

Sometimes it's pretty.

But sometimes it's not.

Because sometimes I arrive at a Spring *season* in my life and I am not furry or feathery. Sometimes I am not cute and cuddly.

Sometimes I am downright crusty, scaly, and perhaps a bit creepy.

I'm not a beautiful budding flower – I am a snizard.

And that is when God gets to work.

You see, I have come to understand that ALL things that arrive in a Spring *season* in my faith journey are necessary.  They are part of the plan.  

The "oooh" and the "aaah" – AND the "ouch."

This Spring I am feeling a bit snizardly, if I'm honest.  And I feel like I am cold and needing to bask in some SONlight.  (Truth be told, I am also a bit "girthy" too – just sayin'…)

Lord, I need You.

Please help me re-awaken to the beauty of this season.  Help me be re-born into something vibrant and alive.  Bring joy to my soul again.  Revive the spiritual sloth of my hibernating.  

Do what You have to do…

…for I have scales.





"Hey, you talkin' to me?"



"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"  (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)


Do you have some *scales* that need to come off this Spring?


Linked today with:

Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY
Michelle at HEAR IT ON SUNDAY, USE IT ON MONDAY
Tracy at WINSOME WEDNESDAY
Charlotte at SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS


(Photo by Walter Siegmund, copied from Wikipedia, under the GNU Free Documentation License)

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

12 comments:

  1. I know that I have said this before. I know that I have probably said this about a dozen times before in fact, but really and truly, THIS is my favorite post of yours since the "Jazz Hands". This literally quickened my heart as I read it. It is inspired and it is most definitely SHARON.


    Love to you,
    Debbie the Snizzard

    ReplyDelete
  2. I, too, am feeling a bit snizardly this Spring, Sharon. Thanks for the new perspective.
    Blessings!
    Pam at 2 Encourage

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this time of year - we all think about regrowth and re-birthing. New chances. A death to old things - old ways. Can't say I am much for lizards or snizards. sandie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Sharon,

    Excellent post, I am in tune with you on many things, but could never have explained it as well as this. Thanking you for sharing your thoughts and convictions and some of mine too.

    God Bless my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now if I seen a snake my tongue would be wagging for totally different reason. Again you've amazed me with your skills of weaving spiritual truth into the oh so ordinary Sharon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow... I believe this may be my first time here and I'm so happy to be stopping in. "A season of spiritual rebirth might not be all flowers and sunshine." Such truth and I simply love how you pulled it all together. Wanda says it better than I..."you've amazed me with your skills of weaving spiritual truth into the oh so ordinary." Beautiful! Stopping in from Michelle's and so glad I did. Blessings. Beth

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Sharon...I posted a similar analagy about working with drywall!
    I guess the Lord will use whatever season, whatever has our attention for a lesson!

    I live in the woods...I am not afraid of anything except bugs!
    By the way...There are a LOT of bugs in the woods...big ones!

    Also, I once saw a grown man scream when he saw a salamander in our well pit...He was in there working on it. Our girls were little then, and tried not to LOL ;)

    ~Blessings and love~
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh can relate to this from the "spring is a time to awaken dreams" to "all things in the spring time of life are necessary"..I am sure I didn't quote those totally right...but my spirit heard it loud and clear...I am there in the spring season of life, with even the mud from the rain.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Sharon,
    I am afraid I too have some scales which need to come off. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post and may God bless you

    ReplyDelete
  10. As I read this, I thought to myself, you REALLY ought to be doing this professionally - as a devotional writer. But then, I realized, you have a real audience in your blog followers and I know each of us is blessed whenever we read your inspired words (however infrequently our visits and/or comments - sorry!!!). This really touched me, as do ALL of your posts. The idea of so desiring to pull off our own scales, but needing Jesus to be the one to do it for us....chills!!! I hope you are well, dear Sharon. Be blessed! Fun fact: In these parts, we have "skinks" - which are our GA snizards...totally gross. You should google it for "fun". ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I enjoyed reading this, Sharon. I like the way you tied your natural surroundings into a spiritual truth about how God needs to de-scale us sometimes. I love Narnia stories and this excerpt is perfect for what you are sharing. Thanks. I have felt scaly this season, also. I pray I submit to whatever He wants to do to take the dragon-ness away.

    ReplyDelete

"So [I] have been greatly encouraged in the midst of [my] troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives [me] new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. How [I] thank God for you!" (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

Thanks for your comments - it is such a joy to be sharing my journey with friends like YOU!

(NOTE: Anonymous comments will be removed. Thank you for understanding.)