More From Bobbie Roper

March 7, 2019 by Bobbie Roper (Florida, USA)

Spring has arrived in Florida, or maybe we missed spring and jumped right into summer. Temperatures are already in the upper 70’s and low 80’s. Good grief… I’m not ready to run the air conditioning!  

Although I haven’t planted a vegetable garden in a few years, I do love being outdoors, working in my flower beds and tidying up the yard and woods around our home. I am refreshed physically as I begin spring cleanup. There are branches to cut up and burn after the winter winds, leaves to be raked, and new mulch to lay. My camellias were absolutely gorgeous this year, but now the flowers are falling off and need to picked up. Nature is waking up and stretching forth in newness of life. Robins are passing through heading back north, Carolina wrens are arriving for their spring nesting season, and bunnies are checking out the new foliage. What a special gift God has given us in the beauty of nature. The psalmist said in Psalm 8:1: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth” (NRSV). That is certainly true as I open my eyes to the natural wonders before me.  

Spring also gives me an opportunity to refresh my spiritual life. What has blown into my life over the past months that needs to be cleaned out and thrown away? Are there negative thoughts that have cluttered my mind? Has unforgiveness robbed my heart of joy? Is my spirit in turmoil rather than at peace? Am I focusing on me rather than on Jesus?  

Oh, Lord, may the prayer of David in Psalm 51:10 be mine today: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” I will be renewed spiritually when I spend time in God’s word, become quiet before God, open my heart to hear God’s voice, and then obey what God says. Help me, Lord, to do the necessary “spring cleaning” in my heart that I may be refreshed and rejuvenated in these glorious days of spring.


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