Springtime

— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —

We will sing a new song
‘Cause death is dead and gone with the winter
We will sing a new song
Let “hallelujahs” flow like a river
We’re coming back to life
Reaching towards the light
Your love is like springtime

Springtime by Chris Renzema

Springtime is nearly here and I recall the lines from my favorite poet, T.S. Eliot, in his epic poem The Waste Land, where he encapsulates the sense of pain that resurrected life evokes:

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

T.S. Eliot

Particularly in these weeks, as we mark one year of living in the shadow of the pandemic, springtime seems almost cruel as it advances and blossoms, irreverent of the suffering that has gone before and of the many deaths this past year. Simultaneously, however, the lilacs out of a barren landscape and the certainty of winter coming to an end are precisely what we are longing for, what brings hope to our weary souls.

So it is that especially this year we should be able to celebrate Easter more profoundly, for in this season, perhaps more than ever, we need the assurance of new life, the assurance of brighter days to come and we desperately need a hope that will not disappoint.

You’re the resurrection
That we’ve waited for
You buried the night
And came with the morning
You’re the king of heaven
The praise is yours
The longer the quiet
The louder the chorus

Springtime by Chris Renzema

In this time of waiting – waiting for the pandemic to be over, waiting to feel safe again, waiting to be able to embrace all our normal activities and breathe a sigh of collective relief, ultimately it is our hope in the promise of Easter which sustains us.

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Peter 1:3

Or as Tim Keller recently expressed – “when you put your confidence in the resurrection of Christ, then even if you find things in your life becoming dark and confusing, the hope that comes from the risen savior will be a light for you when all other lights go out.” So, let’s not lose hope, springtime is inevitably coming and so is Easter!

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the resurrection life we find in you.
Even as the world comes back to life, help us to recognize that the best springtime is actually in your love for us, renewing our spirits and refreshing our souls.
Help us to grasp this living hope as we approach Easter and recall all you have done for us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen