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I have always loved the first signs of spring.
The earth starts to wake up from its long winter nap. Daffodils, in eye popping yellow, rise from the dead to announce that the days of winter are coming to a close.
And I, for one, am glad for that.
I would seriously never make it in Seattle with its 300 days of cloud cover a year. (I’m having a panic attack just thinking of that.)
You guys who actually enjoy gray skies and drizzly days are a mystery to me. I need to have sunshine on my face in order to feel that all is well with the world.
So the moment I first notice those subtle signs, like buds becoming tender and the backyard plum beginning to blossom, it makes me smile.
Warmer weather, bluer skies and summer (the most wonderful time of the year) is on its way.
Cycling adventures, beaches, barbecuing and vacations—and it’s my birthday, my kid’s birthday, and his kid’s birthday, too!
So anyway, I’ve been noticing signs of spring are everywhere; and this year, I was even more happy to see them.
Why?
Because it’s been the longest winter ever, if you know what I mean.
Spiritual winter began last March, didn’t it? And somehow, almost a year later, the frosty winds still blow.
A pandemic.
Lockdowns.
Faces hidden behind masks.
People separated six feet apart.
A world without human touch.
So much of what makes life, life, seems to have frozen over.
As one blogger put it:
“We are not merely bodies to be protected but souls to nourish. As Steinbeck once said, ‘a sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.’ “
But here in the bleak midwinter, there have been some encouraging and promising signs recently.
God is at work.
People are coming to the Lord like never before.
Our church is teeming with new visitors and folks looking for answers, wanting to warm themselves by the fire of God’s love that’s kindled in the midst of His gathered people.
Sunday morning, a newcomer with a happy countenance told me that God had used these troubled times to draw them to Christ.
“I came to church to find hope, and that’s exactly what I found when I heard the Gospel.”
The power of hope.
God promises to bring back summer to a world that’s cursed with perpetual winter.
But one day soon, the snow will melt, the clouds will part, and the Son will come shining through. And winter, with all its death, will be forever swallowed up by Life.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
And here’s a crazy thought, my friends:
The very things that are making life miserable at the moment are the very “signs” Jesus gave to signal His nearness.
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