It was the first day of April, but Mother Nature hadn't gotten the message. Like some bad April Fool's Day joke the ground was hard and frozen when I walked outside. The grass and few daffodils that had bloomed were covered in frost. The single dandelion that had popped its head through the ground had closed up again in the below freezing cold. I watched the sun peeking over the trees and wondered if Spring was ever going to arrive.

As the day wore on, however, the sun began to warm the cold air. The frost slowly receded on my car windows and the grass turned wet as the temperatures crept above freezing. By the afternoon I was even able to slip my jacket off and for the first time in many weeks walk around outside in just my shirt sleeves.

I decided then to take my dogs out for a nice long walk in the sunshine. It felt so good just being outside. It didn't matter that there was still a chill in the air. I had hope that warmer days would soon arrive. It was at that moment that I saw a tiny, single, white butterfly fluttering around. I remembered how much my Mom had loved butterflies when she was here on earth and how many times she had sent them to me to help me carry on after she went to Heaven. I knelt down and smiled at the little guy. I spoke to him gently while he flew in circles around my head and waved goodbye when he flew off back towards the heavens. It was a magical moment and even though it was still quite cold for April, it was Springtime in my soul.

I know that this was only a moment in my life. But life happens in the moment. Our lives are nothing more than a million moments, one after another. Each moment we use to love, to laugh, to uplift ourselves, and to help others makes life better for everyone. Embrace all of your moments then. Use them well. Live them with love. Each one of them is a gift from God.