What a lovely day the Lord has made.  It's Saturday, June 6th.  The sun is brilliant and bright while the sky is a blue that closely resembles the subtle shade of a robin's egg.   Now, this is a classic spring day.   

I had already made one stop on my way to St. Nicholas, conscious that I wanted and needed to be in the building by at least 11:30am.  There's coffee to put on for the 1pm Support Group Meeting and of course paper work that needs to be done and preparations for the 4:30 Liturgy.  After the Support Group Meeting, there is always some one who wishes to speak with me about the program and how they are doing.  It is my pleasure to be available to our sisters and brothers who continue to reclaim and rebuild their lives as they work, "one day at a time" at remaining sober.  

Turned out, I had plenty of time.  So, I stopped at the Elk Grove Village Farmer's Market to see what was happening.  This was the Opening Day no less.  The parking lots were quite crowded and the market spaces were just as busy.  I could smell the sweet scent of freshly made doughnuts.  The clean and firm feel of the season's first crops of potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, green onions, several types of lettuce and mushrooms by the buckets full.  Oh, and the flowering plants:  all those colors and fragrances sent my spirit soaring not to mention my sinuses which responded in kind, too.

The raspberries looked far too good to pass up.  So I purchased a container and savored that naturally sweet taste as I walked the grounds.  Visited with several people, petted some dogs that were leashed to a vendor's tent post and considered another container of raspberries.  I was overcome.  I weakened and I bought yet another container and made short work of finishing off that container, too.  My defenses could have been much weaker as it could have been two helpings of mini-doughnuts!

Spring provides us a fresh start in life, does it not?  The winter vale has at long last been lifted and the brightness of spring proves victorious.  We go about planting our gardens, tenderly and with much love we dig into that dark, rich soil, place that bulb or seedling and we wait for it to begin its life anew.  Spring garage sales fascinate me, too.  How often I'll find absolutely brand new, never opened items gathered atop rows of folding tables neatly covered with crisp, new plastic table runners.  Unavoidably, I ask the owners why they're selling these new items and the responses seem to be similar from one and all: "I just didn't need it after all."  Mind you, I have much more will power when it comes to garage sales then I do with fresh raspberries, thank you very much.  We go about cleaning out our attics, basements and garages in order to free ourselves of the things that we've accumulated over time.  What a refreshing sense of freedom and release when the clutter is out and gone and there is new and open space to breathe and move about.   

My dear sisters and brothers, Jesus is like spring, is He not?   He provides us not just in this calendar season of mid-May to late June, but throughout the year, each day, every day of our life to begin anew.  If we have fallen, if we've 'crowded our life' with too much stuff, Jesus reaches out with a helping hand; He gives us the opportunity to 'clean our house and start over again.'  You see, He never leaves us.  Jesus can always find enough space to live, dwell, breathe and and grow in and around us, no matter how crowded we make things for ourselves.  Jesus is resourceful enough, always was, is now and forever will be able to be so very, very close to us; loving, caring and providing for us.  Do not fear; He is right here.  Look past all that stuff, reach out and over, around and under...Jesus is just that close by.  Remember this is the promise He made to us as He ascended to His Father in Heaven when He said,  "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  -Matt. 28: 20. 

Yes, spring, while only for a short while, is a glorious time of the year. Jesus, however -- and blessedly so -- is forever and ever...  

For all our St. Nicholas community members who are under the weather and in need of healing and prayers:  may they find peace and be blessed with sound and better health:  Holly, Karen, Sharon, Vivian, Jill, Vernon, Connie Nicholson, Marica Kizior, Joanne Mangiaracina, Fran Baylor, Kesha, Mary Gans, Eunice Dohra, K.C., Emily & Dick Day, Dale Rickey, Paula O'Conner,  Stanko Begonja, Phil Cooper, Tim Laughlin, Jackie, Chris, Cathy Walters, Carrie, Tim, Pat and any one else in need of our continued prayers and well wishes.