Spring is a time for renewal with flowers, baby chicks and returning migratory birds. Unfortunately this year has brought with it the start of a terrible and sometimes deadly tornado season. But no matter how dark the storm, there is always hope for tomorrow. The photo Fire in Above illustrates that hope for me.

There is a short story in this issue about a lost child. It is hard to understand why innocent children are taken from us no matter what the cause. As I read this poignant story I could not help but think of the toddler blown into a field 12 miles from any town in Indiana. Why one was spared and one was taken is too sad to understand. But in such times of hardships as we are experiencing this week it is a good reminder to be grateful for God's mercies.

But, OOH!! how I could empathize with the woman in Blessings, Beauty, Breast and Breast Cancer. Most women over 40 have experienced the horrible pinching of the mammogram machine. (If you're in that group and haven't yet had one be sure to get a baseline mammogram and check for lumps monthly.) We go in knowing it is necessary and grumbling all the way. And, then, that awful moment hits when you know that you are one of the 12% of women who have breast cancer. You are now grateful for such a great diagnostic tool and rejoice that breast cancer need not be fatal these days. There is hope.

And, hope is also seen in a wonderful poem To Fill Your Soul With Hosannah... The words urge us to take stock of each new dawn, to feel, experience, listen, and smell to all the goodness and beauty that surrounds us.

After the worst of weather, the crocus will still push up through the piles of hail stones to bloom. The stub of a tree will still put forth tiny leaves. And, each of us will recover and continue to hope.

Georgia Seitz
MUSED Art Team Member