| With Peysakh on the way, this is a month when all are
grateful for miracles in the desert, but here in Southern California, we are
having a holiday season which is lovely beyond any I have known. The world is
full of wonders, and it only takes a step outdoors to enjoy them.
No, no, not the expensive landscape work in Beverly Hills. All the beauty one
can imagine is right here on the very ordinary middle-class block where I live.
Just take the tiny strip of lawn which is between our sidewalk and the street.
Ordinarily, this is tidy, but unremarkable, yet now, it is a miniature field of
treasures. You see, this year we have been blessed with more rain than at any
time in over a century, and although the gardener is conscientious about weekly
mowing, he cannot contain the Earth's exuberance. There are four different sorts
of tiny wildflowers blooming amidst the Bermuda grass, less than an inch above
the soil.
The beauty is everywhere around. Yesterday, I was on the corner enjoying the
journey of a butterfly over my neighbor's flower bed. In only a moment, it
became an airborne parade. For almost half an hour, I stood and watched a dainty
migration of "Painted Ladies" go by. They swooped and swirled just over my head,
spreading gladness in the sky for all to see.
The trees are doing all they can to add a contribution. Each breeze carries a
faint perfume of citrus blossoms from the small stand in a neighbor's yard, and
I've already counted six buds on the new magnolia next door, just waiting their
turn to make May time sweet.
Not everyone is so glad about the rain as I, although our drought has been long
and difficult. Local newscasts have dwelt only upon the auto accidents and
mudslides, rather than also showing film of green hillsides which had been brown
for so many years.
Of course, most folks do not have my special vision of all this magnificence.
Last week, I bought a very snazzy pair of eyeglasses, and everything looks
particularly grand through their lenses. Why are those lenses special? They are
the first ones I've worn since having surgery for cataracts. A few months ago, I
was completely blind in one eye, and almost so in the other.
What a blessing those cataracts were, for they taught me to appreciate the
glories which can come after storms and darkness. This is truly a month of
deliverance for us all, but I have learned a special lesson about miracles in
the desert, and will celebrate with extra joy for all the years to come.
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