Bud Break

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭

Today’s the day!

*drum roll, please*

It’s – BUD BREAK DAY!

It’s a thing. It really is. Every spring, I wait for it with a longing that seems to increase with age.

The first few nice days, the barest hint of green in the bushes that makes you wonder if it really is green, or just wishful thinking.

And then, it happens.

Leaves!

Life.

An epic return of the sun’s power. Life from death. Rebirth, the epic transformation from winter hibernation to full-on photosynthesis.

I get teary eyed for real when I see that transformation. It’s like getting a front row seat to the greatest show on earth.

It means that much to me to see green after six long months of desolation.

Chlorophyll ‘A’ will be kicking in – that’s the remarkable food-production-on-steroids material that will take the trees from dormancy to full glucose production in extremely short order. It’s the reason the new leaves are that delectable shade of lime green – they are the powerhouse that will get the whole process going full speed ahead, pedal to the metal.

It’s a sight to behold.

It would be pretty silly for a tree to decide one day it should revert back to its dormant phase on a whim, or if it ‘forgot’ that it needed to wake up from its winter nap and grow.

Almost as silly as me deciding to live in my old habits which keep me from coming alive and stepping out in faith instead of tapping into the powerhouse and growing beautiful.

Hmmm.

I think we need reminders from time to time that belonging to Jesus means we don’t have to live life half alive anymore. We have access to that lovely kickstarter chlorophyll A – God’s own presence – which keeps us fresh and renewed and ready to grow in skill and character and beauty.

So as we enjoy the warmer weather and the lovely shades of green stirring to life around us, let them be powerful reminders that we, too, are new creations when we belong to Jesus. We are the bud break people. We are free to be green and alive and full of nutrients for those around us – and a beautifying element to the world as we allow God to work in and through us.

Embrace your new nature with me?

Father, thank You for spring and its reminder of the power of transformation You bring to us when we accept You as Saviour. Help us to choose daily to walk into this glory with You and leave our old patterns of thought and behaviour behind for good. Amen.