I look forward to that time in late March and early April when all the flowering trees, forsythia bushes, and all the colorful flowers like tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth begin shooting up out of their bulbs. When all those plants begin waking up from their winter naps I feel like I am beginning to wake up too. I’m not really a fan of winter. I don’t care for the cold or the very early sunsets that leave us in the dark for so many hours. But when spring arrives my mood shifts. I get outside more and go for walks. I look around as I drive keeping an eye out for any new flowers along my way.
Spring is a time of hope and rebirth so Easter fits wonderfully into this season of new life. This past Easter Sunday I could feel the energy of rebirth and new life all around me. The weather was perfect, the flowers were blooming, folks from our congregation and community came together to worship outside and witness to the resurrection hope once again. Even our kids running through the graveyard and hunting for eggs was a sign that the tomb was empty and that death was not the end of our story, but rather that in Christ we are offered a new life of abundance and joy.
There is a beautiful hymn that weaves together the imagery of all those flowering plants that symbolize the beginning of Spring with the truth about Christ and the resurrection. The lyrics go like this,
““In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
There’s a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there’s a dawn in every darkness
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.””
I hope this spring you feel God moving and new life beginning. The past year has been one full of grief, loss, and uncertainty and yet, in all times God is with us. God is with us when we feel like the a bulb buried deep within the earth and longing for light. God is with us when we spring forth onto a new and glorious day. Whatever the next days, weeks, and months hold I am confident that God will continue to be with us.
