Well, here it is - yesterday was March 20th, the first day of spring and the vernal equinox! It's hard to even think about spring when the snow is piled so high you can't see over it and more is predicted; when the temperature is still going close to or below zero at night; when your roof looks as if it will collapse from the weight of the ice; and when the windchill is so bad you have to wear a scarf just to walk!
But there is hope as well - from now on there will be more daylight than darkness each day until the autumnal equinox, the sun does in fact melt the snow and ice even if the temperature is not above freezing, you can walk at night until 8p (CDT) and still have some daylight lingering, and baseball season is about to start!
As we look toward Holy Week next week and Easter Sunday beyond we know that hope is where we are heading. No matter how dark it has been, no matter how cold or snowy, the promise of Easter is the promise of new and renewed life. That's what Jesus offers us - HOPE! We can make it through the darkness and the bitterness, the enslavement and whatever the world has for us when we hold fast to the new life that Easter bring us.
I know we are all going a little stir-crazy with the weather and we want to quit shoveling the snow and just wait for the warmth to come and take away all of our problems - and that will happen on Easter! The warmth of God's great gift in Jesus will break through the cold of our wilderness time and allow us to move forward if we have faith, or at least the hope of faith.\
Journey with me as we move from cold and dark to warmth and light during Holy Week. There are so many ways to embrace this special time of the year with worship on Palm Sunday, Good Friday (noon) and Easter Sunday (8a and 10a). There is the Maundy Thursday Seder meal and the opportunity of serving a meal at the CHUM drop-in center on Tuesday, March 26th. And all week there are prayer stations at church to help you feel more deeply this holy time.
Join me as we go deep in the wilderness for one more week - only to come out into the light of Easter.
Blessings,
Pastor Laurie
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