The month of May comes highly anticipated like a runner coming around the last turn of a long track and field event. Excitement rises as the racers hit the final stretch toward the finish line. This is how it feels as the fifth month of the year approaches. Spring in Indiana has never fully sprung until May. Those April showers bring with them a fluctuation in temperatures that can send spirits soaring one day and drop you into depression the next. But when May hits, things seem to shift almost overnight. Brown mucky backyards explode with green grass that needs to be mowed every other day. Sad looking trees liven up with fresh leaves and pretty buds. Flowers pop up everywhere filling the once drab outdoors with vibrant colors. March and April can be fine at times, but May is when everything seems to turn right. There are other things about May as well: May is when school usually lets out. May is when most graduation ceremonies are held. And early May is when I have my birthday. So, I really like May.
But this year, is, well, unique. In the time warp created by the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, the approach of May has not felt the same as usual. It’s as if a runner has fallen down behind the race and is being carted off by an ambulance. The rest of the field may still be running, but the athletic competition just doesn’t feel right anymore. The annual anticipation of year-end activities that would normally be cause for celebration, has evaporated. Normal seasonal milestones do not exist. Spring sports seasons have disappeared. School activities, productions, and concerts aren’t happening. Therefore, it has been difficult to keep our bearings on such things as days, weeks, and even months. As a result, May has snuck up on us this year.
In the midst of the weirdness that we have come to know as 2020, uno de Mayo is here. And we should welcome it. Even though uncertainty lingers, there are still some threads of the familiar that we can latch onto.
The days are growing longer and the sun is feeling warmer.
The outdoors greet us with the beauty of green grass, flowering trees, and vibrant spring hues. The birds are chirping and rabbits are scampering in the glory of spring. These things should make us smile. Even though the drabness of winter seems to draw on for so long before it blooms into spring, May reminds us that beauty does come. Even though life is different than we could have anticipated, there is still divine artistry all around us if we will have eyes to see. As we observe lively daffodils pushing through the dirt, we are reminded of the blessings that exist in the midst of blandness. While living with uncertainty, we are reminded that goodness pops up in our lives in a myriad of ways each and every day. May broadcasts hope. So may our good God open our eyes and bring our hearts a sense of expectation with this new month.
Uno de Mayo is here!
