Vale la pena

As I sat in this sunny room today and looked out the window, I thought “wow… look at all the new life out there.” Our house is sortof on the side of a mountain, and surrounded by more mountains! I can look out my windows and see this giant hill behind our house that is changing from a dark “evergreen” color to a bright, almost flourescent green. It’s beautiful. I would totally take a picture for you, but Nathan has our camera out in the jungle right now. So just trust me. It’s beautiful. Then I looked out another window and saw this giant bush… thing. It’s right behind our “garage” (why the quotes? That’s another story for another day…) and it’s covered in little yellow flowers. Again, beautiful!!! For a few minutes I sat staring out the windows, noticing all these budding plants and trees around me. That’s when the sneezing began. I kid you not, I probably sneezed 10 times in less than 1 minute! So as I ran for a tissue and some Benadryl, I had to laugh. Yes, springtime is nice. If you can enjoy it through your Benadryl induced haze. It’s exciting to me to see all this new life everywhere I look, but it comes with a price! Mainly, sneezing and itchy eyes for me. My poor dad pops allergy meds like they are M&Ms this time of year. My sweet little sister sounds like she has the world’s worst cold, depending on what part of the state she’s in. And yet somehow, every April, we are still thrilled to see the cold weather slowly give way to the sunshine. Because as much as we despise our allergies, it’s worth it for all the new life.

Which brings me to my next random thought… does new life ever come without a price? I have a sweet friend who is in labor as I type this. Just thinking about the pain she’s in right now makes my stomach turn and my eyes cross. Actually… wait. My eyes are crossing cuz I’m exhausted. But my stomach is turning thinking about the pain of childbirth. GOOD GRIEF it’s intense. My mind’s eye can see me gasping for air and trying to convince myself that I will survive this! But the very next image that comes to mind is that tiny, slippery angel being handed to me. Tears of elation are unstoppable and immediately I think “vale la pena.” It was worth the trouble. Precious, amazing, priceless new life. But most definitely it did not come about easily!

I’ve been noticing some new life in my own personal world as well. Some things that I’ve never thought would bud and grow, are doing exactly that. But again, not without a price. It’s amazing to me how many lessons in life just plain ol’ hurt! I’m encouraged though, to see new life in these areas that I thought were hopeless or beyond repair. I know that when I look back at some of the current struggles I’m in, I will say “vale la pena.”

Here’s the exception, in my mind. My new life in Christ cost me nothing! Odd, isn’t it? The most valuable and amazing thing that has EVER happened to me, cost me nothing. I simply had to recognize my need for it, and take it from His outstretched hands. And my need for His life in me is very real, to be sure. I truly have no desire to know what I would be like if God had not stepped in and made Himself real in my heart.

There you have it, my random thoughts for the evening. I typed all of that while waiting for my precious husband to get online so I could tell him goodnight. Mission accomplished! We got a few minutes of chatting, and now I’m signing off before I pass out in this akward position on the couch.

Praying that you can enjoy the new life in your springtime, even through the haze of your allergy meds. Just think. In a few weeks, it’ll all be over. Vale la pena!