Thoughts on Spring and Lent

Today was a beautiful 65 degrees. The sun was out. At times there was no need for a jacket.

We crave these first few warm days of spring in Chicago. People emerge from their homes, stretching and nosing around like bears from their dens after their long winter sleep.
I decided to walk in the prairie at the Morton Arboretum. It wasn't exercise. I didn't follow the educational path. I meandered. I took pictures. I stopped and listened to the water running in the stream. I looked up and stretched towards the sun. Ahhhhhh........

One of my favorite sensations in the spring is feeling the soft ground give under every step. After months of walking on the hard frozen earth, sinking into the saturated soil feels like a homecoming. It is like I am being welcoming back into creation.

I love seeing those remnants of the fall that have hung on all winter. The pods and grasses that still look the same after months of snow, ice and wind. Then upon closer inspection, you can see the new growth starting to peak through.

All of this is happening today as we are right in the middle of the season of Lent. We are still on the long road to Jerusalem with Jesus. We do not yet have those long warm days that signal the wind chill and the bitter mornings are not quite done for the year. And it is not Easter morning. It is March 13. It is the third week of Lent.

And yet...we live in the joy of resurrection now. We live the promise of new life each day. Glimpses of green hidden in the dry grass give me hope. Knowing that our Easter Alleluias are coming does not diminish the rest of the Lenten journey. In walking with Jesus during the dark and somber days of Lent, we also look ahead knowing that our reconciliation is made complete in Easter joy.