As I write, the official "first day of spring" is well nigh over and we're all hoping the end of winter is just around the proverbial corner. Whether it's relief from snow and cold or incessant rain and near hurricane-force wind, we're all waiting for the first quarter of 2011 to give way to that blessed season of spring.
One of the first signs for me was the fact that the PCs and their companions are beginning to pop up everywhere. No, not that kind of PC, or those guys either, I'm talking about primroses, crocuses, daffodils and snowdrops. Oops, sorry about that reference to snow.
It would be wonderful if the end of life's "winter" seasons could be calculated even half as easily as the seasonal forecast. Life's challenges could be a bit more easily dealt with if we knew that by the end of a certain time period all would be cheerful and bright. While it doesn't usually happen that way, how wonderful when chilling circumstances give way to hope.
This week a close friend of our granddaughters was in critical condition with an undiagnosed illness. Her parents had been told to expect the worst. Though this very special teen girl still has a long way to go toward a complete recovery, the "change of season" came with the news that she now has a label on her disease and she's breathing on her own.
There's been so much bitter news over the past few weeks that I figured it was time for me to focus on something positive. It's not denial - it's just that, like prairie people in March, sometimes you have to tell yourself that winter won't last much longer.
"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come."(S of S 2:12)
Don't give upspring has to come soon!
