To various people the word “spring” ignites different thoughts. Most would admit that this seasons brings refreshment.
If I were to summarize in one word what springtime has meant this year, I would label it “changes.” These have been more than just a change of seasons…
Some of these changes have been immediate; others occurred overnight, in a day, or gradually. As a Christian I recognize that God is the One Who not only “changeth the times and the seasons” (Daniel 2:21) but orders and allows the variances happening in the lives of His children.
We knew spring was just around the corner when we awoke (before the alarm!) to the chirping of a new wake-up call. The winter fowl had given place to the portly red robin. The crocus poked its delicate blossoms through the ground, defying the last of the winter snow. Outside the window we observed the first of the tree buds. We are no longer shoveling what’s snowing – we’re sweeping and soon mowing! A few dizzy flies emerged, leading the all-too-soon-to-come insects… we bid adieu to the solitude of winter to greet the bustle of a new season.
Those outdoor changes were obvious to many…but there were a few indoor ones as well. Of course the stocking caps were tossed aside as bonnets and baseball caps donned the heads. Winter clothes were stored away till the next bitter frost. The drone of the dryer is seldom heard these days as the sheets are now strung on the clotheslines.
Cobwebs were swept away to reveal windows and walls again! Airy curtains swayed in the breeze where once those heavy drapes hung. Storm windows and plastic came down, and screens and windows went up/ A rearrangement of the furniture contributed to the renovation. In the kitchen, even soup and casserole recipes were overlooked in efforts of finding those favorite summer dishes.
Changes looming in the future capture my attention the most, though. Having recently “celebrated” a change in age, I look forward to the day when God will change this vile body. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) Some glorious day according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “…We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
On the flip side of the “coin of change” there are some things which change not. The Word of God will never pass away according to Psalm 119:89 for it is “settled in heaven.” “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
God’s love is constant and inseparable from believers (John 15:9, 13 and Romans 8:35). The Lord claimed, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3) And, of course, Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
These are the comforts that carry us through the other “seasons of life.” They enrich us in those delightful, happy times and encourage us in the difficult, heart-rending times.
