The Season to Believe

Summer is hot, autumn is mild and winter is cold. Of all the three, winter is the season that prepares the ground for the next creative process - the magic of spring!

Winter sprinkles the frozen earth with snowflakes, covering the landscape with a white blanket of snow. From a distance the snow-covered ground appears like a primed canvas, worthy of Da Vinci’s brush and Michelangelo’s touch.

Spring comes like an artist with a palette of paint, bringing life to a dead space. It thaws the frozen and restores life. It repairs the faded colors that were caused by the freezing winter. Spring revitalizes the spirit of nature. It gives birth to a new beginning.

It is amazing to witness the brown pasture gradually reverting to its original green. Soon, seeds will sprout and grow. A variety of beautiful perennials will awake from hibernation. New twigs will emerge. Lush of leaves will revive the trees. Tulips in vibrant colors will shoot up from the ground. Wild flowers will bloom to meet the visiting butterflies. And when God is smiling, a rainbow will appear, to bridge the clouds and the open meadow.

God is the Master Artist, the Lord of all seasons. He has chosen spring to show us the work of His artistic hand. Spring is the season when He unveils earth`s hidden beauty. From the fertile ground that hosts botanic life and animals - to the air that caters to the floating bees and butterflies - to the flowing rivers that reflect the magnificent sky, God connects them all and transforms them into one grandiose show-and-tell. A truly magnificent illustration!

Spring keeps us in touch. It makes us feel the energy of fulfilment. What we plant today is the fruit we harvest tomorrow. When we build a dream, we allow the dream to build us. When we practice what we love to do, we become what we love. Musicians are who they are because they play with music.  Likewise, a ballerina finds the rhythm of her motion by allowing her heart to dance with the music. The possibilities are endless as long as we believe in the spring that comes from within us.

Spring is about time. It is the time to believe in hope. It is the time to welcome a new beginning. It is the time to visualize what God has in store for us when He illustrated the most endearing beginning of all the beginnings – the resurrection of Christ.

It is not a coincidence that Easter Sunday falls on spring. Spring is truly the season to believe in the renewal of our Christian faith. 

Alone With God

Rouge Beach looks abandoned in most winter days.

   Breaking a promise is not a good thing. Yet, last Friday, I did just that--without remorse or guilt. Truly, my action did not bother me. Not one bit!  How could I be so callous?

   The truth of the matter is, I was only postponing the promise I made to myself. Three days earlier, I said I would clean up the clutter in my basement man-cave. The chore is long overdue, but the blue sky outside told me otherwise. It was the perfect day to shoot winter scenes at the Rouge. It was also -6 Celsius out there by the river, not to mention the wind-chill coming from the lake. So, I donned my furry Russian hat, Arctic boots and snow suit  With my backpack, I looked like a soldier on a mission, ready to shoot!

In the midst of its serenity, not a single soul in sight.

  

The Rouge River was frozen. The snow was like an oversized carpet, matching the white clouds above. Except for the beautiful blue sky that accentuated the horizon, the landscape could have been in perfect sepia. The place was beautiful, and in the midst of its serenity, I was alone -- not a single soul in sight. The usual quacks from Canada geese were missing in the air and the flying seagulls were nowhere to be seen. The Rouge seemed like it was reserved only for me and my photography.

The cat-tails  seem to be posing for the shot.

   
  The  wind  was also  surprisingly  in  full  cooperation.  It  redirected  itself elsewhere, so the cat-tails wouldn't sway, making them appear like they were posed for the shots. The stillness of  the surroundings  made me see and hear clearly. Then it occurred to me that I was not completely alone. 
Like in a prayer -- I was alone with God!

The icicles look  like ornaments hanging on a princess ears.

    At the Rouge, I was like a student having a one-on-one learning session with the headmaster. God was leading me to the rarely seen face of winter and showing me the season’s underlying beauty.  Patches of ice on the ground glittered like diamonds. The icicles were like ornaments hanging on a princess ears. The snow looked like clouds on the ground. Winter certainly opened my eyes!  My appreciation for the warmth of my coat and the comfort of home had grown deeper. The lifeless ground made me look forward to the green grass, resurrected only by the coming of spring.

The rarely seen face of winter and its underlying beauty

The two-hour solitude at the Rouge was more than photography. It was a spiritual journey; a time to open up; a time to connect; a time to listen and the time to count the blessings.