The world is cold and frozen and then suddenly, she is clothed in splendor. From the mud and the dirt springs something fresh, clean and beautiful. Out of the grey and brown we are gifted with green, yellow and purple.
The scriptures for last Sunday told the stories of the dry bones Ezekiel encountered in the desert and of Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus. While I'd heard these stories so many times before, I had never related to them as I did on Sunday. My bones were feeling very dry. I was in need of some resurrection.
My life has been filled with more uncertainty than I'm comfortable with these past few weeks. And my only recourse has been to sit and wait for something to happen. Which is starting to feel like staring at the ground, waiting for something to sprout.
The winter was so long and so cold this year and then it just wouldn't stop. Hammered by snow storm after snow storm, freezing cold commute after freezing cold commute; I lost interest in going outside. I didn't want to do anything other than curl up under the covers with my space heater blasting.
I was losing my faith in Spring, losing hope that soon it would all be beautiful.
But then came Sunday and the miracle of Spring.
On Sunday I felt the warmth of the sun. Not just the light of the sun, but it's actual warmth. It was beautiful, I felt like my dry bones were rising up and God was commanding the four winds to breathe into me so that I may live.
I could finally hear the birds. I could finally smell the flowers. I could finally feel the warm breeze.
Just like Lazarus' corpse and Ezekiel's dry bones, I had come to life.
It seems impossible that life can come from death. It seems impossible that growth can come from dust.
Two Sundays ago the preacher quoted a line from a poem: "Do you not know what God can do with dust?" When I consider this question in the context of Spring, it occurs to me that God can do an awful lot with dust.
So I will continue to stare at the ground waiting for something to sprout. Because I know that when I am at my darkest, God can bring me sunlight. When I am at my driest, God can refresh me. When I am losing faith, God can help me believe.
Out of the dust, God can bring flowers.
What a miracle.
My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
~Song of Songs, 2:10-13
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| This is the banner I made for church last Sunday. It symbolizes a body or plant (the green fabric) being infused with life (the blue fabric) and lifted up by the Spirit (the yellow fabric). |
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