There is no winter harsh enough to withhold the promise of spring.

-Karen Kaiser Clarke

While I typically dislike change, this quote reminds me that it is simply part of nature. No more, no less. Instead of fearing change, I can choose to take comfort in the knowledge that there really is a season for everything…and each new season brings its own special beauty. I remind myself that with change, there is the promise of something different. Sadness fades. Pain subsides. Hope creeps in.

Greg took these pictures today. The first few are of a flowering lilac bush in our backyard. The others are of a flowering plant my parents gave us for our 24th wedding anniversary, which was last Monday.