Spring beautiful spring! This time of year we are witnessing rebirth, new growth, and fresh energy all around us as the Earth and our lives come out of wintery slumber. It’s a gorgeous season. I’m writing this on the first day of spring. It’s raining and already the ground is responding with bits of beautiful color.
It’s a terrific time to celebrate new beginnings and also a great opportunity to take a little personal inventory and do a little care work on an individual and collective level. We can acknowledge where we are. We can choose to preserve that which is good, and we can expand upon the opportunities we have to nurture and to grow goodness throughout all of our environments.
Our tenet this month that “We live and promote life culture and are stewards over our environment” is perfectly matched to nature’s transition to spring.
Spring is the beautiful season to plant, build and invest in a garden. With this idea in mind, I’d like to share an experience with all of you. One of my daughters had a project that she wanted to do for her own personal progress– growing a garden. What a joy it was to be able to serve with her and to work on this with her. A lot of time, materials, and physical labor were invested in this. Together we learned that good gardeners always do preparatory work to make sure the soil is nutrient rich, tilled thoroughly, and well prepared to receive the seeds that are planted. We also learned that we needed to study each type of plant that we wanted to put in the garden so that we knew the unique requirements of caring for them. We learned about proper irrigating and daily maintenance. We learned that this is not something you do without dedication and commitment. We learned that we must become, in fact, good stewards over the garden and that this would require some personal sacrifice, selfless service and an increased amount of love.
In later discussions, we compared the garden to our lives. We learned how important it is to be good stewards who are committed, dedicated, and respectful so that we can create an environment where growth can occur.
According to Merriam Webster, stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”
The need to cultivate environments whereby personal growth could happen and love is nurtured has never been greater than in today’s world, in my opinion. We as women have a divine and unique calling to be able to do that care work. We are natural nurturers and our beautiful God-given talents and abilities will guide our purpose. Our divine destinies are already aligned with these innate feminine gifts. Deep roots never doubt that spring will arrive.
Our stewardships should first include ourselves so that we have the attributes we need to contribute to the plentiful and abundant environment we desire to create. It is a lot more productive to draw from a well-established source. So, please remember to take care of you, too. In expansion from there we can extend our influence and efforts to our family, our neighbors, our communities, and then to the nations. Those positive efforts can create a lasting rippling effect. Never doubt that you matter and are an important influence.
A favorite example of mine in the world of influential women is Marjorie Pay Hinckley. She stated, “We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and move at a pace that is comfortable to us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” What an invitation to celebrate the beauty and power of femininity in women everywhere.
We are the stewards in life’s garden. We can choose to create positive and thriving environments wherever we live. We are all unique and will require individualized care and nurturing in ways that will build others up and help us to grow. That variety and diversity are both a strength and a beautiful light in this world. This month, let’s ask ourselves in what ways we can promote that environment? In what ways can we open doors that would encourage positive conversation? What activities would benefit each other and the communities in which we live? Then, let’s be great stewards in loving and nurturing those opportunities. Let the season of spring with its new growth, rebirth and new energy surround us and settle into our hearts.
It really is a great honor to be able to serve and work and lift each other. Each new day is a gift that we can use to spring forward in our efforts to create abundance and goodness in our environments. Listening to the rain falling is reminding me that new growth and new beginnings need some good watering, too. So, I’m sending some additional love and the best of wishes to each of you. I believe in you and your amazing abilities, too! Every one of you is a cherished and valued person. May this new season and new month be something that is remarkable, and may the warmth in goodness surround you. ???
