The messy pollen has a purpose.
Yesterday, when I walked out on my porch to let my dogs out, I once again grumbled to myself about the thick coat of pollen that covers everything this time of year. You can literally wipe it off of any surface and within a few minutes, there’s another thin layer.
More than once, I have attempted to do a thorough cleaning of my porch before the pollen is done flying and more than once, I have found myself incredibly frustrated. While I might have been ready to move on to the next season, nature was not. It still had work to do.
The yellow pollen that makes such a mess is from pine trees. They produce lots and lots of pollen to ensure that all of their seeds get fertilized and that their species survives. There’s an actual reason for the mess.
It doesn’t matter how much I sweep my porch or wash my car, the pollen will fly until it’s time for the next season. Nature does not run on my time table.
Consequently, it doesn’t matter how much I complain about it either. Pine pollen is part of living in the deep south.
As I think about the pollen, I think there may be a lesson in the mess. I think we have all had times in our lives when the pollen seems to keep flying. As soon as we clean ourselves off, we find ourselves and our world covered again in a mess of some sort. We desperately want to move onto the next season because we are just plain weary of the mess.
Most of us have wondered things like: will the baby ever sleep through the night, or will the toddler ever be potty trained, or will the morning sickness ever stop, or will the puppy ever be house trained, or will I ever finish school, or if the sadness will ever ease, or if a broken heart will ever mend?
The list of the different messes that we find ourselves in on this side of eternity, is close to endless. But, like the pine pollen, many of what we consider at the time, to be frustrating messes have a purpose. Many of them are simply a phase along the journey. Many of them are ensuring our growth.
When we look back upon them, many of them end with some beautiful blooms and a season of calm. The Bible tells us that there is a season for everything. When you think about it, that has to include the pollen times.
That thought gives me a little more patience and hope. Maybe you needed some today too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂