Michigan has never been prompt with its spring. It teases and taunts us with glimpses of sunshine as it slowly reduces the frequency of snowfalls. It’s no secret that everyone is ready for spring to make her appearance. With the polar vortex, this winter felt extra long, extra isolating, and extra chilly for everyone. This week though, the weather shifted. The sky felt clearer, the air smelled sweeter. The freedom of making your way to your car slowly (rather than rushing as quickly as you can) was there for the taking.
This week I’ve left my windows open, both enjoying the fresh air and letting my plants get as much sun as possible. I wore a skirt without tights to church on Sunday, and we came home to find our neighbors relaxing on the front porch. Dan and I have made passing comments about how nice it is to see people out and about walking dogs and riding bikes, and almost every conversation begins with “are you enjoying this beautiful weather?”
Leaving the house feels freeing. The air feels fresh. The ground seems new.
The sweetness of this season (after such a long winter) is not lost on me. Something about it feels extra magical. Like I’m on the edge of my seat ready to take it all in. The timing only seems fitting that it would be in this very season that we move through Lent. In church services and daily readings I’m met with the same truth: there is something fresh about the presence of Christ.
The world is dreary, heavy, and cold. Hearts are hardened, selfishness is brewing, opinions are loud and harsh. We isolate ourselves from each other, just doing our best to get through winter. Yet here stands Christ, opening His arms and offering us freedom. Offering us warmth. Offering us protection. It’s not isolation that leads to warmth, it’s stepping out and into His embrace.
He calls to us, saying “Come see what I’ve made new. Come see what is springing forth. Come see the work that I have done. Come see the daylight that I bring. Let me breathe life into you. Let me warm your cold hands and lift your low chin. Step into the light.”
He speaks sweetly as a friend. He speaks lovingly as a Father. He speaks wisely as a leader. He calls us to experience new life, abundance. To experience the joy of His presence. To notice every ounce of magic. To sit on the edge of our seat and take it all in.
Do you feel the shift? As we celebrate the freedom He has purchased for us, the victory He has won. The sky feels clearer, the air sweeter. All I need to experience spring is to step into His presence. Through winter and beyond He offers this gift, the warm invitation of His love. Not won by performance, but given out of grace. The sunlight we need to shine down upon us.
As I wander through my neighborhood and see the signs of new life, I see tangible reflections of the new life He is creating all around me. In the hearts of those being saved, in the renewing of my own mind, in the lives of broken families, in the lives of new families forming. In body, heart and soul through the work He did on the cross. I want to sit at the edge of my seat and take it all in.
“The people walking in darkness
Isaiah 6:2-4
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.”
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