Spring has arrived in all its glory here in the mountain. The geese are proudly showing off their new goslings, colorful bluebirds and cardinals are busy preparing nests for their young, the cooing of doves is a delightful sound, and the blooming daffodils and tulips are a beautiful reminder of a new season filled with hope and renewal.
Spring will always be my favorite season of the year. There is just something exciting about witnessing the earth waking up to newness of life after a long winter. The daffodils are always the first to poke their heads through the barren winter ground, and shortly after the Canadian geese arrive to begin their mating and nesting season. Each morning I wake up to new vegetation sprouting and trees budding and blossoming across the mountain. It is a sight that never gets old. Every morning I thank God for giving me another spring to see his awesome creation overflowing with beauty and abundance.
Spring always makes me think of Song of Songs 2: 10-13.
“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
Surely heaven must be a little like spring, as we trade in the trials and tribulations of this old world for a new and beautiful beginning. At times life feels like a barren winter season, as this past winter felt like to me. An unexpected breast cancer diagnosis found on a routine mammogram, a dissecting aortic aneurysm unexpectantly taking the life of my 48-year-old son-in-law, my niece rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening health condition, and my aunt taken for emergency surgery for a heart valve replacement.
While the arrival of spring cannot erase all that is happening in life, it is certainly a reminder that hope is alive and barren seasons do not last forever. As we observe Good Friday today and Easter this Sunday, it is another perfect reminder of the new life we have when we accept Christ as our savior. He willingly went to the cross, suffered, and died so we could have eternal life. Now that is newness of life! Praise his name!
As you celebrate Easter this weekend, ponder the precious gift of eternal life that would not be possible if Jesus had not endured the suffering of the cross. Place your hope in him and allow the cares of life to fade away in the light of his marvelous grace. Happy spring and happy Easter!
