Wait Until the Tenth of May

We are waiting for spring – until the tenth of May.

Sometimes it seems like it’s here, and sometimes like it’s not.

It’s been some winter. Warm days, little snow and ice, and temperatures fluctuating from warm to cold and back to Indian summer, right in the dead of winter.

I heard old-timers talk about what this was going to do to the fruit trees – but fruit time seemed a long time away, so I didn’t fret about it. Besides, we don’t have any fruit trees about which to be concerned.

Sunday morning, Dave noticed that the north sides of the trees along the church entrance were darker than they should be. It hadn’t been that cold over the weekend, but this was a new development from the week before.

So the men, being men, sauntered out to check those trees. Was it a blight, or a disease? they wondered.

“Oh, just give it time,” Jim said. “Mr. Carden used to say, ‘Just wait until the tenth of May, and it will be okay.’ “

Mr. Carden was Jim’s father-in-law, and he is no longer living, but he knew a lot about gardening and fruit trees. Come to find out, Mr. Carden was right.

“It always worked out,” Jim told the men in his southern drawl. The men believed him and quit wondering if they should do something about those trees.

The leaves started pushing when the weather turned warm in February. When it got cold and then warm again, those baby leaves couldn’t handle the cold. They have started to wither, turn brown, and fall to the ground.

“Just give them time. It will shed those leaves, and new leaves will come out,” Jim assured the folks.

Life is like that. Time has a way of bringing healing and of bringing new life.

Dreams and aspirations are pushed ahead, and then adversity circumvents the growth. Instead of abandoning goals and ambitions, just give it time. Instead of giving up, keep hanging in there.

In time, healing takes place. New growth appears where the old once was.

So we are waiting. Nobody’s doing anything to the trees. We will just wait. We will give it time.

Healing will take place, and new life will burst forth from what once was maimed and broken and deformed.

Just wait until the tenth of May.

You’ll see.

Be patient. The tenth of May won’t arrive any earlier by becoming impatient. It won’t show up earlier because we stand and gawk and wait on the trees. May tenth won’t arrive sooner because we are frustrated with what happened.

But the tenth of May will arrive!

Right on time.

Just wait. Healing will happen. By the tenth of May, springtime will be here. Buds will have turned to blossoms. The barren will be blooming. The frost-bitten will be restored. Get ready. It will happen.

Just wait. You’ll see.