A Pastor Rambles About Spring

I am not a huge fan of winter….ok I am not a fan of any kind. There is a little adage that says, “the other man’s grass is always greener” that I held fast to as a child.  I was raised in Florida, South Florida to be honest, I should have been happy with the perfect weather scenario.  It was warm year round and every day was beach weather.  But, oh no I  always wanted to live in a seasonal place.  We had two seasons in Florida….hot and hurricane.  

 We had palm trees and palmettos so there never was a changing of the leaves.  As a child I longed for a place with all the pretty colors of the fall.  What I didn’t realize with my dreams of living somewhere seasonal is that in those places there are four seasons….and winter is one of them.  Remember, I am not a fan of winter.  I am not a fan of cold.  Even though this winter was mild compared to many others, it has still been a long, cold winter, and I am eager for warm weather. I am eager for flip-flops and tee-shirts.  I’m tired of seeing bare trees and lifeless brown leaves covering the ground. 

 

I long to see jonquils and wildflowers poke through the dead leaves and to watch the woods turn green once more.  Yet even as I anticipate spring, which is one of my favorite seasons, I hear my mother’s voice saying, “Don’t wish your life away.”  I was a dreamer as a child and if the truth be known some of that little girl is still buried deep inside me.  Can you relate?  If you’re like me, you sometimes hear yourself saying, “When such and such happens, then I will . . . or, If only so and so would do this, then I would do that . . . or, I would be happy if . . . or, I will be satisfied when . . .”  It is funny but  more often than not in longing for some future good, we forget that every day—regardless of the weather or our circumstances—is a gift from God to be used for His glory.   

 

There is a cute saying that goes, "Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery, Today is a Gift, Thats why it's called the Present."  I love this saying.  Author Ron Ash says, “We are where we need to be and learning what we need to learn. Stay the course because the things we experience today will lead us to where He needs us to be tomorrow.”  In every season, there is a reason to rejoice and an opportunity to do good (Eccl. 3:12). The challenge for each of us every day is to find something to rejoice about and some good to do—and then to do both.  Just as the winter turns to spring, our lives have changing seasons too;  So when a gloomy forecast comes,   Remember—God has plans for you and every season brings a reason to rejoice.