So it appears that my blog has become a place where I come to air my grievances with life's little annoyances. I didn't intend for it to be that way, it just happened. And it's happening again...right now. I know I'm taking the risk of decreasing my readership from four people down to one (I'll always have my wife pretending to support me while really only looking for typos), but it's a risk I'm willing to take.
Depending on how familiar you are with the South, you may or may not be aware of what transpires in the early days of April each year. No, not Easter--that's not just a Southern thing, although we do give it Southern flair by saying things like "He is risen, ya'll." What I'm actually talking about is the delightful process of natural selection that springtime in the South brings with it. You see, I have allergies, and every tree in Charlotte, NC is trying to kill me right now. And I'm not alone. I find the easiest conversation starter in Charlotte during the month of April is, "Do you take Zyrtec or Claritan D?" Pollen settles on this city like nothing you've ever seen, making us a community united--by the yellowish tint of our vehicles, the disgust on our faces and the eagerness for May's arrival.
But it's not all bad. In fact, I found ways to have fun during the pollen-soaked days of early spring. For example, earlier this week at the young adult Bible study that I lead on Monday nights, we decided to hold our discussion outside since the weather was so beautiful. By the the time we closed in prayer, we were all coated in pollen. I just pretended it was the powdery sugar from a lime Pixie Stick--a favorite from my childhood! So, I licked the table I was sitting at. Okay, I did not lick the table I was sitting at, but I did draw a heart on the outside cover of my Bible, which also had a coating of pollen on it. Drawing in pollen, now that was fun. In fact, it was so fun that I decided to write a message on the hood of my sister-in-law's car (see picture above). Yes, I sprayed the car off after I graffitied it. However, the pollen will return tonight, and I'm excited to write a new message tomorrow.
It's funny how God will use simple, everyday things like pollen to shed light on "stuff" inside of us. Every winter, I wait in desperation for the warmth and beauty of springtime, but when it arrives, I grow frustrated and inpatient with the not-so-pleasant aspects of this long-awaited season. Inpatience has always been a major character flaw of mine, and it seems like I'm taught this lesson every April--that enduring the unpleasantries of life is a big part of what makes the wonderful things so...well...wonderful. I'm counting down the days until the pollen has stopped falling, and I'm able to hang our hammock between the two beautiful hickory trees in our backyard. I love getting home from work and taking my son out to that hammock, stretching out and swaying back and forth as we watch the planes and clouds pass by overhead. Those two hickory trees could very well be culprits in the annual pollenfest, but I need to remember that soon they'll be giving me their full support as I spend precious time with my son. And as I wait for that day to get here, I'm going to try and maintain that perspective! I have a feeling that the beauty found in waiting for that day to arrive will only add to the reward that comes with its arrival.
