Lenten thoughts

Spring is hard-won here...we woke up to this winter wonderland this morning after having temps in the 50s/60s earlier this week.  Snow in March used to throw me into an emotional tailspin when we first moved to Michigan and while it’s still not my weather de jour, I know it’s not permanent.  Lately, it's serving as a reminder that spring doesn't come overnight....that true change takes time...you can almost sense the earth moving these days..birdsong in the trees, the sound of river-ice crackling and thawing, the delight of bearing witness to those first green shoots coming out...only to be buried again by a few inches of snow. A reminder that we are not in control...some days that looks like digging out the Hunter boots again, other days it's a treat to slide our feet into flats! Either way it's preparing my heart for Easter....for the hope and rest that comes with new life. And there is something about spring snow to me...I used to bemoan it and now I sense that it's perhaps the last snowfall of the season so the maximizer in me wants to treasure it...one more evening of night sledding with the kids, one more taste of snow ice cream with a drizzle of maple syrup, one more cozy snow day by the fire with a stack of books...seasonal living does come at a cost but it comes with some glad surprises too...

I heard birds singing as I took this picture-so different than just a month ago when there was only silence. So the earth waits, we wait. Lenten life reminds us that there is hope after the darkness; that new life will reveal itself when we thought all was lost. There are things I’m waiting for, for myself and others, and it’s easy to get antsy and skip over this part. To get right to the happy endings and warm days and fruit so ripe it hangs off the vine. But we can’t get there until we live through these late winter and early spring days, knowing that roots are being nourished under that snow and growth is taking place even when we can’t see it. Here’s to the waiting.