A good friend recently confessed she has a love-hate relationship with May. 
“It’s generally stressful, but this year May has turned from busy into overwhelmed. End of school, Mother’s Day, prom preparations, graduation …” Her list continued with additional difficult expectations.
I get it. For years, Mother’s Day was always a hard day for me. I missed my Mom, who died before she reached sixty and never met my children. May in our family holds three birthdays and Mother’s Day. In years past, it also meant, for my husband and I as college faculty, preparing, giving, and grading final exams. We also added graduations into the mix. Currently, at a distance, I’m hearing about my grandchildren’s end of school projects, exams, and anticipating saying good-by to friends. Their households are moving at record pace with not much breathing space. Necessary has taken over, and within minutes could become overwhelmed.
Later that week, I received a call from another friend, sharing devastating news. There wasn’t a shred of merriment in her voice or about her situation. She saw no apparent fix, only appreciation for the gift of prayer and selected scriptures to console her heart.
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalms 94:19 ESV)
The merry month of May isn’t always merry.
The April showers don’t always bring May flowers.
This morning I took my usual walk. I passed an older gentleman slowly walking using a quad cane. On my trip back home, I checked my distance. I had clocked 1.5 miles; he hadn’t made it to the end of the block.
What’s his “merry” in the merry month of May?
As I sped up to finish my walk, I got my answer as I overheard a neighbor getting his mail, call to him, ”How are you doing today?”
I slowed down a bit to listen. “Beautiful day, isn’t it? Glad I could be out to walk.” I’m guessing he saw May flowers.
A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (Proverbs 17:22 NKJV)
Apparently, even walking at a snail’s pace, that gentleman had a merry heart. His focus gave him a healthy perspective.
We often misunderstand merry as celebrating with music and confetti. Life often calls for other responses. We do not smile in grief, pain, or watching a loved one struggle. But we can respond with attitudes emphasizing the sweet over the bitter and be refreshed by consolations of our soul
The mental and physical health benefits to a positive outlook are well documented in scientific studies. Long before research, these verses of scripture tell that truth.
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What about you? How has focusing on the sweet over the bitter, moved overwhelmed to merry?
Share with us, how have you seen showers in April or any other time, bring May flowers?
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalms 94:19 ESV)
Oh how I loved this post today my friend. Why is it that we humans tend to dwell on the negatives in our lives much more than we do the positives. I may be old, much slower, and weaker than I used to be; but God sees fit to awaken me each morning. I take that to mean there’s something more He’s got for me to do. How we approach living makes a big difference doesn’t it ma’am? We can either live life or slowly let it drain away. Great message!
Yes, JD Approach, willingness and perspective make a difference. Thank you for your contribution once again to enrich the conversation. Marilyn
Marilyn, how you brighten our day and turn our hearts toward God with gratitude for his gifts. Yesterday, I also saw an elderly gentleman struggling to walk. He was unsteady on his feet even with a cane. As I exited the medical facility, I was lamenting my own pain until I saw him. I prayed someone would offer him gentle care, then I thanked God for my blessings, including the ability to walk. The artistry of God’s creation in flowers and the bright greens of spring can help us have a merry May as we count our blessings and pray for others.
It’s a mixture awaiting when we exit any door and many lessons in the mix. You were alert and embraced what you saw to speak to you.
Those small things can give us such big encouragement. The man you met is a sweet picture of an unhurried life. Just enjoy every step of the journey! Thanks for sharing this story.
Barbara, I love the concept of the unhurried life.
Marilyn, it really does get down to perspective. I was reading in Matt. 6 about what Jesus said about the eye. When our eye is healthy our whole body if full of light. May He grant me the grace to see through His eyes.
Love it! And that light we receive, can’t help but shine on others. Thank you Debbie.
I love this! Looking to see the beauty – even in the hard.
Thanks for joining us Sheila. We look and will see, if as Barbara said in one of the comments, we live an unhurried life.
No matter the month, I try to keep a thankful heart that God has given me work to do and places to go.
I’m right where you are with May. I get to enjoy all the end-of-year wrap-ups vicariously through my children and grandchildren.
Yes, I can relate to May being a stressful. In my teaching days, it meant completing all of my students’ assessments, evaluating their results, preparing their report cards, completing their cumulative records, planning end-of-school parties, and packing my classroom up for the summer. It also meant figuring out a cool Mother’s Day craft for them to make as gifts, which for my class, meant painting clay pots and potting a real flower, both very messy projects. May was just a month to survive! Working now as a blogger has changed that for me, but I agree with your sentiment; we need to find the flowers in each day. This pandemic has really helped in this area, has it not? During the fear and uncertainty, we had to focus on the good to be able to endure. I plan to continue to. 🙂🙏🏽🌸
Thank you for including the focus on the older gentleman who crept along on his walk. What a beautiful reminder that there is still joy in life even as we become less able to do the things we enjoy most. What a wonderful attitude he exemplified. Marilyn, I too, remember those busy days of May in academia–scrambling to get it all done, grading an endless number of papers, meeting deadlines by working 60 plus hours a week. But it culminated in graduation where I saw my seniors whom I had nurtured for four years walk across the stage. My most favorite aspect of college teaching–loved the pomp and circumstance and joyous families celebrating their child’s graduation. Thank you for the happy memory. Blessings, my friend.
Katherine, I loved my days in academia –even the end of semester crunch and now thanks to social media, I keep I keep in touch with many of my former students whose children are now in college! Seeing my investment in their lives and careers has been a blessing. Marilyn
What an encouraging post. Thank you so much. Loved it!
Any season can be bittersweet. We must find the joy. I find it in the hope I see in May’s lilacs and warmer temperatures. Sometimes the merriness comes when we seek it out and ponder the blessings past and present.
I find my heart the most merry when I choose to be thankful regardless of my circumstances.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging post. May we always have a merry heart and give thanks in all things. Although we may face April showers, our eyes can lift towards Heaven and see God’s goodness.