• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe

Finding hope in the beauty of God’s creation

April 21, 2020
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window, Uncategorized

Spring is a season of hope.The days are longer. The trees are blooming. And, as the green leaves replace the flowering yellows and pinks and whites, the season radiates loveliness.

In the midst of all this, of course, there’s a quiet current of anxiety, a subtle taste of fear, a worry about a virus that hovers over each day. Is it nearby? Will it arrive here? Has it already?

When I’m walking through our neighborhood, though, I try to push concerns aside and focus on the beauty of spring. Even as I dodge neighbors who threaten to come too close, I try to keep my eyes on the exquisite gift of nature. It’s not just a distraction. It’s a source of hope.

I watch the squirrels streaking through yards, hear birds chirping to one another, and see flowers pushing their way out of branches that were bare just a few weeks ago, and I’m in awe.

Life. It’s everywhere. It’s seemingly unstoppable.

Sometimes I find myself marveling at the people in other parts of the world whose quarantines didn’t start in the spring. How did they cope with being housebound in the cold darkness of winter? What did they do? How did they get their children’s energy out in the long dreary cold?

On a sunny spring morning under a cloudless sky, winter seems a distant memory. In quarantine, time seems to have so much meaning and yet no context. When was winter? Weeks ago? Months ago? I’ve lost track. The other day I looked at our boys’ bare feet and they looked enormous.

“Do your shoes even still fit?” I asked. They laughed. They probably didn’t understand why I was asking. But time has lost all meaning. All I know is that it is spring. Everything seems to be growing, including our children.

As I walk, all around me I see life—dogs sniffing lampposts, children riding bicycles, and adults jogging.

God’s fingerprints are everywhere, and this spring I spot gift after gift from our Creator. The greatest gift, of course, is today. Even with the worries and the uncertainty and the challenges that come with a continuous quarantine, we have been given another day, another breath, another chance to be all God wants us to be.

I don’t know what the future holds. Many nights I wake up in the early morning hours and cannot fall back to sleep. Am I doing all I can to protect my family? Where will the virus strike next? Will those who are sick be healed? Will life ever return to normal?

On a spring walk the next day, though, I can find a glimmer of peace and a gentle promise.

Life abounds. Life is a precious gift we must cherish and protect. And it is full of unexpected beauty, even when under quarantine. With God’s hand, even a dandelion finds its way up through a crack in the sidewalk.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

In honoring anti-Catholic activists, L.A. Dodgers strike out

10 Easy ways to grow in your faith this summer

Question Corner: Are our intentions actually remembered at the shrines we donate to?

Sabbath: A blessing we should think about accepting

Get to know St. Rita: A saint for impossible situations

| Recent Local News |

CEO, authors, NFL coach take part in Catholic college commencements

Connect program centered on empathy, listening

RADIO INTERVIEW: How to grow in your openness to the Holy Spirit

Archbishop Lori announces eight appointments

Archbishop Lori ordains six to transitional diaconate

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Experts hail U.S. surgeon general’s social media warning for youth mental health
  • As COVID’s emergency phase ends, Catholic experts share takeaways for the church
  • Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’
  • Florida Catholic wife, mom, doctor involved in sainthood causes says Eucharist is central to all she does
  • Nun’s incorruptible remains highlight rich heritage of Black Catholics in U.S., say experts
  • Under surveillance, government pressure, China needs prayers, observers say
  • Arson at beloved Illinois shrine leaves community ‘deeply wounded,’ says rector
  • Court puts temporary hold on South Carolina abortion ban a day after governor signed bill
  • La comunidad católica de Uvalde marca doloroso aniversario con Misa y oración

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED