We had 5″ of snow last Sunday and this Sunday it was 60+ degrees. It’s like having whiplash! Last year we had a very early Spring…this year it is very late. Soon it will be 85 degrees – it seems we go from winter to summer, skipping Spring.

And it amazes me that while there is thick snow covering the ground the next day the trees are turning green and flower buds open. How do they know when to show up and open? Is it related to the amount daylight hours? Does it have to do with temperatures? I am sure there is a scientific reason. I love to take my walk and observe the progress of the tiny buds…the weeping willow is usually the first to show signs of green. (Can we observe that “weeping” can bring new growth?) Crocuses come up in the ice and snow…so it must not be temperature related.

This year the winter was particularly harsh – brutal cold and feet of snow – loss of power. Very unusual for us here in the South – it made the news on a national level! (I’d just as soon not make the national news, thank you!) It was easy to get discouraged and wonder if God had decided to skip spring this year. However, in February when the snow was deep and the temperatures dropping I began to notice the days were perceptively getting longer – just by minutes – but still longer. In late February I heard a mockingbird sing – a sure sign that Spring is somewhere in the neighborhood.  Others may not notice but I do because I am looking for it. Hope! We all need hope to survive.

There is a time for Spring to come…nothing can stop it. It comes when winter has done it’s worst. It comes in spite of the circumstances. And isn’t that true in our lives? When we have weathered all we can endure; when we think God has forsaken us; when we are ready to give up, God sends a small encouragement: a timely message from a friend, a smile from a stranger, an unexpected invitation to lunch… You might miss it unless you are looking for it. When it comes, and it will, it gives you the courage and strength to carry on. To keep going. It is a gift from God.

Keeping looking. Keep expecting. “There is surely a hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:18)

Isn’t that what Jesus’ Resurrection tells us?