What comes to mind when you hear the word “renew”?

If I’m being honest, when the word “renew” is uttered I cringe a little. Because “renew” makes me think of things I have to do. Things like renewing my driver’s license, car insurance, tabs on our truck. And library books (check out this cool article I read a few weeks ago about an artist who uses old library check out cards for her pieces). The things we do, perhaps begrudgingly, as responsible adults.

Not very “pollyana-ish” of me, is it?

Time for me to shake off the cringiness and consider alternate applications of the word “renew”. I mean, it’s springtime after all, and isn’t this season all about renewal anyway?

The ground beneath our feet is in it’s renewal era at the moment. Here in Minnesconsin, the multiple inches of snow we got earlier this month has melted entirely. The ground is soaking up that moisture as we speak , beginning a state of renewal. Soon, our yard and gardens will come alive with new growth. I anticipate my interest in spending time outdoors and doing the work required to nourish this new growth will be renewed.

What does renewal look like to you? What does it feel like?

Maybe you’re feeling that you want to renew your sense of adventure. Try things altogether new. Visit places you’ve never been. I’m doing this by obtaining my very first passport, ASAP. It’s not going to happen for a while, but Mr. NOA and I will be traveling to Canada. My hope is to meet and learn more about my dad’s side of the family from Quebec. The DNA sample I sent in to an ancestry website earlier this year ought to be processed soon, and I’m looking forward to the adventure of discovering who is all in my family tree.

What steps might you take to renew your sense of adventure?

Perhaps you’d like to renew your sense of hope. Hope for your future and your people’s future. Hope for humanity. I would wager that we can, if we are intentional about it, find glimmers of that hope stuff. It’s so easy these days for our attention to stay with all of the awfulness happening in our world. While I think it’s important to keep oneself aware of what is transpiring within our governments, locating bits of hope here and there helps to balance things out a little and makes things feel less bleak.

A quick google search led me to this article about youth in California banning together to advocate for reducing the amount of pickleballs and tennis balls going into landfills. That is just one little bit of positivity happening here in the U.S. amidst the mayhem our government seems hellbent on creating. There are still people doing what they can to make things better in this country. We musn’t lose sight of that.

What renews your sense of hope?

I’ll leave you with a song I’ve always found to be breathtakingly beautiful. It wasn’t until I was 30-something that it occurred to me that this song originated as a hymn sung in church.

May you seek the renewal that your heart desires.