Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
~Isaiah 43:19
I discovered this scripture a couple of years ago and was struck by it; drawn to the phrases “a new thing,” “springs forth,” and “do you not perceive it.” We live in a cynical, weary world, where it seems we have seen it all before. In such a world, what would a new thing be? And, springs forth? That’s such an energetic phrase. It implies something visible, tangible, happening, and yet at the same time, the phrase “do you not perceive it,” implies being blind to such an event.
I’ve thought of this scripture often since I first heard it, looking for the new things springing forth in my life that I might be overlooking. Today, the words hit home literally. The temperatures have warmed up, hinting that spring is here, but while my friends in slightly more southern climes have been talking about gardens and posting pictures of blooming flowers for days, if not weeks, already, I had yet to glimpse such signs in my own back yard.
Suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t been looking. I grabbed my camera, put on my favorite 50 mm lens and went outside in search of new things. I found life all around me. Although the ground was still mostly comprised of brown tufts of earth, torn up by winter snowplows, plants and trees were budding everywhere. I just had to get close enough to see them.
If by taking this verse literally I found so much life springing forth around me, I wondered how many other new things are occurring daily that I just don’t see. So many days seem filled with the same routine – get up, conduct interviews, write articles, correct papers, teach. I am so caught up in the weft and warp of daily life I forget to see how the threads weave together. A creative spark lies within each of us. I feel it bubbling beneath the surface. I sense something new around the corner. I now work to train my eyes to see it.
Here, is what I saw today:
Writing Prompt: What Springs Forth in Your Life?