Spring!

I LOVE SPRING! I am SO thankful for new life, new beginnings, longer, brighter days and warmer temperatures! Spring in my family also means baseball! I do not know any person alive who gets as excited about Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training than my Dad! Truth be told, I am such a nicer person when it is warmer out!

I am also reminded that south of the equator, many are preparing for Fall. I have been to Peru numerous times in July and August and I am amazed by the reversal of seasons! In the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan) there are only two season, the dry which runs April-September and the rainy/wet season from October to March. What fascinates me about this is how God sustains life in each of these different regions with their different climates and agriculture.

I keep muttering/murmuring Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (ESV). The Hebrew word beautiful here means appropriate. The beauty is in recognizing and acknowledging that God, “in His providential plans and control has an appropriate time for every activity” (Glenn, BKC, 1985, p. 984). However, there is a deep longing inside of us to understand more, to investigate what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of others. Because “we are not able to discern any place or pattern for all of this…We thus have a sense of alienation and bewilderment in time” (Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 1993, p. 299). Every person is wired for eternity and either we can trust that God has made the appropriate beautiful or we can fight against Him.

I cannot understand why Winter has to last so long (or is even necessary), nor why the good people south of the equator are preparing for Fall. But what I do know is that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps 19:1). Regardless of where you live and what season you find yourself entering, I pray that you will take some time to talk with God. May we thank Him for where He has us and ask Him to prepare us for what He wants to do in and for us. I know that for many people, Spring still seems far off. As God holds the universe, so too, He holds you. Let Him hold you. Enjoy this new beginning. Enjoy the different colors, scents and sounds. I am so thankful to begin another season with you dear reader, thank you for your time!

Father God, thank You and praise You for this new season! Lord God, for those of us in colder climates, thank You that warmth, new life and growth is on the way! Lord, prepare those who are entering Fall for the cooler temperatures. Father, may we trust that You have made everything appropriate in its time. Lord, may the eternity that we are wired for bring us to a place of greater trust and dependence on You. Lord, may we worship You the One who creates beautiful sunsets, budding flowers and changes the color of the leaves! Lord, may Your Creation point us to You! Thank You Lord that we can trust that You are who You say You are and that You never act contrary to Your Word and Character. Thank You Lord that You are constant! Thank You Jesus that You are the same yesterday, today and forever! Triune God I ask by Your Spirit, through Jesus to the glory of the Father, reveal Yourself to this reader today. Thank you Jesus, for this new season and it is in Your name we pray, Amen.