Recently the weather in Kansas has been BEAUTIFUL! It’s been sunny and 75 and not too windy. I have been spending almost all day long outside working in my yard or playing with my son. It has been wonderful. As I’ve spent time out there I’ve been able to see the changing of all of the plants day by day. I’ve seen my flowers go from little buds to full blooming beauties.
But I grew up with flowers in my yard, something that is new to me is my grape vine. When I moved to this house there was this trellis with vines and giant leaves on it, I wasn’t sure what kind of vines they were. I looked into it and found out that they were grape vines. By this time all of the leaves had fallen off and it looked very dead. I searched to see what care it needed for the winter and what needed to be done. After the last freeze, it needed to be severely pruned back, but little else.
As all of my flowers bloomed, it still looked dead. I wondered if I had done it correctly, Then just this week it started to burst with color. First it had lots of little purple buds. Then those purple buds started turning into little green leaves.
It was a real joy and relief when I saw those buds appear. Then last week I also saw a news story about the California “super bloom”. Where no flowers were planted and where no flowers were seen the last few years, all of a sudden this year the hills surrounding the San Joaquin River Trail were flooded with wild flowers!
It turns out, both my grape vine and the hills in California were just dormant. My grape vine was simply dormant for the winter. The flowers of California had been dormant for a few years. Both went into dormancy due to lack of resources. My grape vine adjusting to the cold temperatures, and the California flowers were adjusting to the lack of water due to drought. Many plants go into dormancy by saving up carbohydrates before the dormant period and then lowering their metabolism during it. This means that they still perform basic functions but keep it to the bare minimum. This way they don’t have to burn as much energy. When the conditions are right, they are able to flip a switch and go back into their growth period where they will soon flower and bloom.
The parallel of the dormant period of plants and Lent is quite apparent. Then with Easter comes a bursting of new life! The first of such is Christ’s new life in the resurrection.
With his rising from the dead also comes our own new life. In this Easter season I am reminded that while I was afraid that I had killed my grape vine, I should not be afraid of my own death. Christ’s victory over death means that each of us are saved and meant to be with Christ in heaven forever. That is possible and it is there for us. What amazing news! That is why the Easter season (not just the day of Easter) is a time of celebration! We should be feasting and singing praise and jumping for joy. As I said, each day I go out into my yard and see something new growing or a new bud on my grape vine, I feel this joy inside of me. It’s exhilarating. How much MORE should we each feel an overwhelming joy each day that we wake up, each day that God has given to us, each day that we know that God has conquered death for us. Let us celebrate this good news every day! Let our songs of praise echo above the roof tops. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Along with this season of new life, I have chosen to start a new path of my own. After a lot of time in prayer and many discussions with my family, I have decided that this will be my last blog for a long time, possibly ever. The last four years of writing these blogs has brought me many blessings. I hope that it has done the same for you. I will still continue to be the Catechist Scientist. My brain doesn’t just stop seeing the beautiful connections between faith and science. For instance, I still have about 20 bookmarked articles of ideas, but I will no longer be taking the time to write it all out for you, my wonderful readers. If you want to reach out and discuss any of these or other ideas, please feel free to email me at catechistscientist@gmail.com. I am always excited to discuss faith and science with others. Or if you know me in real life, we can grab a bite and discuss the amazing world God created for us. As for most of my time now, though, it will be spent with my family, raising my child and celebrating the fantastic life God has blessed me with. Thank you so much for all of your support throughout the years and I do look forward to talking to some of you. Thank you and God bless.
