Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to another special edition of Monday Moments Live-inspired podcast with John O'Leary.

I want to begin this one as we begin stepping into spring together with one of my

favorite quotes from John Henry Newman. He writes that growth is the only evidence of life.

I'm going to say that again because these are profound words. Growth is the only evidence of life.

And is there a time during the year when we see greater growth than during spring?

You know, one of the great pleasures my wife and I have experienced together since marriage is we

have moved, in fact, three different times, but all three times we've moved into a house

with a magnolia tree in our side yard. I love magnolia trees. I love spring.

I love everything about this tree. And I want to share with you today on this Monday morning three

lessons that that magnolia tree has taught me. And I think there are three lessons that are going to

influence and elevate the way not only you step through your spring, but the way you step into your life beyond the

spring. So number one, these might be worth writing down. Number one lesson that the old magnolia

tree has taught John O'Leary. Life is seasonal. Life is seasonal. Through years of marriage and four

children's births and three different houses, we've been fortunate to have

that magnolia in our yard. It's a beautiful tree. It's got an awesome shape. It's got intricate

branching and hardy leaves. It's the perfect tree for climbing on, for building a fordun or for sitting

below. The reason I love it, though, are those flowers. Each spring,

these brilliant white and red and purple and pink flowers pop to life from that tree. And yet,

like all trees, it has a completely different look during different times of the year. In the winter,

it's covered with desolate brown and gray branches. Then spring comes along, and it is now filled with life and flowers as

winter has come to its appropriate end. Those blossoms then make way for the green leaves that

wave at us all summer long. And then as winter approaches, again, they turn yellows,

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