Springing Up!

As we ease into spring, the weather softens, the birds outside our breakfast window chirp a little louder and new green shoots start to appear.  Seasonally it is the time for new beginnings and hope.  In this spring of 2021, we are emerging from what has been a rather gloomy winter—if not the weather then lockdowns and/or the threat thereof, a world in disarray on so many levels in so many places - uncertainties in employment, personal health, separations due to the pandemic with family and friends we couldn’t be with in their times of illness and even death. In many ways for many people it has been an anxious and dispiriting time. So the promises of spring lift our spirits.

The convener of our “Care & Share” group this month has chosen as our discussion topic: “Inspiration: what inspires you?” 

I’m finding this theme a beneficial spring exercise—spirit-lifting.  I will be sharing a picture of my favourite National Park which I first visited many years ago.  It’s inspiring to me because the mountains put life into perspective. My current dramas are always dwarfed by the sheer size and beauty of God’s creation.  The mountains engender awareness of both my own relative insignificance and the awesomeness of having a Friend who not only shares such beauty with us but gives us the capacity to appreciate it, while showing his enduring care and concern even in the midst of our trials, small or large.  And I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:29-31 (TPT):  “You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father.  Aren’t you worth more than many sparrows?  So don’t worry.  For your Father cares deeply about even the smallest detail of your life.”

It can be too easy, especially during these last few months, to find ourselves under the influence of the news and social media’s 24/7 cycle of ‘important information.’  Much of this crucial news is presented in a style which promotes an underlying sense of angst and fear — statistically increasing their audience share.  See it on the mainstream TV networks all the way through to fringe bloggers and social media influencers. And at the end of the day, it can leave us feeling anxious, tense and apprehensive without our even being conscious of what caused it. Drinking in of the beauty we have been given to enjoy on earth (in person is best but even a picture will do) transports me away from the anxieties and tragedies of today to the space where Jesus is saying:  “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden?  Then come to me, I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” Matt. 11:28 (TPT).   This for me is the inspiring reminder sprouting from the promise of spring.  

Aniket Deole (@anik3t) unsplash. YOSEMITE IN SPRING