It is the first day of spring. I hope you found a way to enjoy it outside in the breezy brightness, with the budding trees and the thickening grass. I was running around the picturesque East Tennessee countryside for most of the day, admiring fields of fescue coming in strong from recent rains and 70 degree temperatures, and daffodils in ditches, and cows making the most of it, picking with gusto. But no early spring day is complete without noting the invasion of my enemy tree, the Bradford Pear.

But we’re going to overlook that in favor of the productive day spent in the company of a dear friend, a longtime friend, a good friend who needed a good day. And he got it. Do you all sometimes pause and realize that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in that moment? That maybe, just maybe, we aren’t just floating along, happenstance, and a billion moments have connected and aligned to put us right where we are? Last night when I was up half a dozen times, I tried very hard not to come all the way awake. But I remember praying almost every time that today wouldn’t have any hiccups, that things would move smoothly along, that our plan be His will, as well. And best I can tell, it was. It wasn’t without hiccups, but it was close enough, and it’s kinda like people will tell you on your wedding day: “if, at the end of the day you’re married, it was a success. And that’s all that matters.” So today was a success. No, I’m not married! It’s a metaphor.

We all have our want list. We all have our needs list. Sometimes the wants will disguise theirselves as needs. It’s tricky business. I hope that we know our wants won’t hurt us. I think it’s a good rule to put our wants to the side, and save towards them, but if in six months they don’t seem as vital, to let them go.

Spring is often viewed as fresh life and new beginnings. It’s certainly easier to be more hopeful with the rising temperatures and brighter skies. So if you haven’t been setting the world on fire since January 1st, now’s you’re time to make up for it. All I’ve been doing is plodding along here, keeping it real, and trying to do a little good in the world, even if it is in unconventional ways.

I hope that today, on the first day of spring, in the year of our Lord 2024, you found a reason to be blessed and comforted and know that you are loved. I hope you have at least one good friend, and I hope you felt heard and appreciated. I hope you laughed and I hope tomorrow is just as good, or even better. I hope you don’t lose sight of yourself. And I hope you rest through the night, free of worry from what hasn’t happened yet. Don’t go borrowing trouble. There’s plenty to go around. The longer I live, the more I realize that things happen exactly as they should. The right person is out there, you just have to be patient. And I’m not even just talking about love. The right customer, the right neighbor, the right boss, the right contractor, the right husband or wife. The right person will listen to your stories, and be honored to hear them, and cheer you on. There will be an energy you can’t define; you may not even be aware until after. Kismet, fate, whatever you wanna call it. One day it’ll click and you might stop and take a moment to acknowledge that there’s something great at work, all over every single second of our lives. And thank God for that. Because I have zero business being in control.

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy