Yesterday marked the first day of Spring. It was a chilly one here in South Carolina and necessitated digging through the coat closet to find the winter coats we had put away thinking the cold mornings had passed. This isn’t unusual for where we live. There is often a taste of Spring that tempts and taunts us with the hope that the cold winter mornings have gone. When the weather changes and the temperature drops again, we have to remember that we aren’t through just yet.
Interestingly, this weather usually comes at the halfway point of our Lenten journey, too. When we think we can skip ahead to the joy of resurrection and new life, the cold creeps back in reminding is that death has to come before new life can blossom. The cold reminds us to slow down yet again and not to wish away what the cold and shadows can teach us.
As we bundled up again this morning, for the first full day of Spring, I found myself wondering what this Spring and this Eastertide would bring. Already, it has brought our family to a new home. As I look out my window each morning, I wonder what will bloom next. We are in a new house and enjoying being surprised by all the blooms and beauty. It seems almost unfair that we get to enjoy this new life having not worked to plant or tend to their needs.
We continue on this Lenten journey in hope of the resurrection, in the shadow of the cross, and in the light that we are not alone.