Every year I anxiously await the first signs of bloom on our saucer magnolia tree – and then I check the extended weather forecast to see if a cold snap might shorten the glory of the tree by a sudden freeze. The tree is ready to be in full bloom and our weather forecast is positive.
Every Lent we anxiously check our spiritual temperature and vital signs to make sure we are ready for Easter morning. The fall and winter months have put us in a stage of hibernation. It’s cold, maybe there is ice or snow. It’s foggy and dreary, being inside is comforting. And in many years, situations outside our control overwhelm us and we just want to pull the covers up over our head until things are resolved.
Nature doesn’t permit the trees to stay in perpetual hibernation. And God has a way of calling us out of our stupor to open ourselves to the world around us. It is bloom time!
The wonder of Spring in the northern hemisphere is the blooming – the blooming of cherry blossoms and new grass, the bloom we celebrate on Easter morning where we declare loudly that death has no power, Christ is Risen.
Natalie Sleeth wrote one of my favorite hymns. In this time of budding and blooming, remember these words of promise:
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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.
Rev. Clara
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