In winter
all the singing is in
the tops of the trees

~ Mary Oliver

My tree, the Japanese Magnolia that grows in my front yard, is so full of buds, I can hardly wait for her to bloom. There have been a few buds that have opened a few weeks early, making the anticipation of her full bloom all the harder to wait with patience.

And while this magnificent tree reminds me year after year that the most beautiful things bloom out of the darkness and in the cold of winter, she continues to teach me new things each year.

This year, as I see the few blooms at the very top of the tree, where only the sun reaches in the few warm hours of the morning, I am reminded that there is a time for everything…
including waiting.

While the two or three blooms have my heart beating a little faster at the excitement of what is to come, I also know that it is not yet time. That the waiting, while it can sometimes be the hardest part, can also be a beautiful part. Not knowing what is to come can be thrilling and exhilarating and to allow these emotions to pass by is a mistake we can often make in life. Instead of delighting in what is, we wish for what will be.

So as this year comes to an end and we start anticipating what 2018 might bring us, how can we hold the last few days with wonder and delight? How can we squeeze a few more drops of goodness out before we say goodbye?

~ Staci Lee