The new life and blooms of spring have always been beautiful. They took on a new beauty for me when Monieca and I moved to Sumter, SC 29 years ago. I had never seen so many azaleas and camellia bushes. They grew large and painted the landscape in spring like a talented artist covers a piece of canvass. We loved walking around Swan Lake. In those early years we also attended the Flowertown Festival in Summerville each April and the display of red, pink and white azaleas were spectacular.

When we built our house several years ago, I planted a few azalea bushes. Their blooms, along with those of the dogwoods and camellias, create a scene I wish lasted longer. I also wish I could go outside and enjoy them more. Drinking coffee or eating a sandwich while soaking in their beauty would be nice.

Here’s the problem. POLLEN. That yellow dust that covers everything and irritates the human anatomy. I know it’s an important part of the natural process of plant life, but it is aggravating to those who would like to sit outside and eat a sandwich or drink a cup of coffee while enjoying the beauty around us. Who wants to use a water hose each time you go outside? So I sit in my kitchen and look out the large window. It’s nice…but not as nice as sitting outside when the temperature is just right.

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to have those blooms with no pollen dust getting in the way. Alas that is not the way it works.

Life is sort of like that. There is so much beauty. Opportunities to enjoy life as God intended abound. But life also has its pollen and the accompanying dust. Life has its challenges and frustrations. If we’re not careful, we’ll end up sitting in the kitchen looking out the window instead of getting outside and actually living. We allow the dust to distract us from enjoying the beauty of life.

If you are constantly waiting for the dust to go away before living, you’ll likely spend your whole life waiting. And that would be a real shame. Go outside today and live.

Pastor Steve Hogg