I love spring! Even more than the promise of warmer weather, I cling to the lessons I’ve learned through the accessories adorned by this wonderful season.

The most difficult spring of my life was 2001, when on May 1, my young dad lost a 16-year battle for his life and was Promoted

to Glory.

It would take a year’s worth of The Record publications to convey what a treasure he was.

Spring’s unearthed grieving quickly transforms to celebration, though. For just as he taught me such valuable lessons in life, dad’s passing also brought lessons equally as important.

Several of these lessons, oddly enough, I’ve gained through the short but sweet spring season of my favorite flower, the lilac. The day we laid Dad to rest, I passed a lilac bush that was almost void of any live blooms. Finding a couple, I inhaled deeply that wonderful fragrance. I had missed most of their season in the worries and trauma of having a parent sick and hospitalized long distance.

I wondered to God why this sweet flower had such a short season. In His answer was a reminder, a challenge and a beautiful comfort.

God reminded me that my dad was much like the lilac. His season on Earth was very short, but amazingly fragrant. He challenged me to be the same—a fragrant, pleasant presence in the life of others.

Finally, God comforted me with the fact that on that day, just as I had caught the chance to breathe in the incomparable scent of my lilacs before they were gone for another year, God had destined me to be my father’s daughter—to be so privy to the wisdom and love that this short-seasoned man had to offer. What a beautiful comparison for comfort in such a dark moment!

After this seemingly endless winter, I am once again anxiously awaiting the arrival of the lilac blooms, ever mindful of the lessons I’ve found in the wake

of their aroma.

 

Jodi Wood is an AVI employee who works at the Leaf Raker.