North in the Garden March
23, 2013
I
recently returned from the part of the Garden called Vermont. When I arrived there the views were
breathtaking after a good snow had covered everything in its pure white. Birches and pines, fence tops, shingled
rooftops and ice-laden ponds were stunning in the brief but bright winter
sunlight. It was Vermont in all its
postcard splendor.
By
the time I left, however, the snows were melting under warmer temperatures and
almost spring rains. The land was slowly
being released from its winter stronghold.
Roads began to ever so carefully ooze muddy before another hard freeze recaptured
them in ruts and solid ice—the back-and-forth of winter and spring’s annual
tussle for the earth.
In
between freezes we explored the outdoor world, examining shrubs and trees for
signs of new life, finding buds that swelled with the promise of spring. Is there any difference between “hope springs
eternal” and spring eternally hoping? Fresh
air laced with crisp melting snow, the hint of spring rains to come and a faint
trace of early flowers ready to splash the world with crocus-tulip-daffodil color. All my thoughts turned to my Florida garden
and the planting delights soon to come…
Whoever
planned for Easter to take place in the spring surely knew what they were
doing. New life, victory over winter’s
death and bright spring growth call forth all that was hidden away in the tomb—so
much to live for!
“Love and
faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our
land will yield its harvest. Righteousness
goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.”
(Psalm
85:10-13, from the New International Version of the Bible)
The
Psalmist must have written this in the springtime! Let us rejoice in the days to come, that we
have been given a fresh new chance because our Lord lives again!
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