It’s felt like spring for the last two days or so. It only went into the high 40s last night and today promises to be around 60. But technically it’s not spring until 11:33 AM when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length. The sudden warmth of the last two days has brought daffodils and some flowering trees into bloom. But, don’t forget, we’re not out of March yet, and it will become cooler, and rainy as well before the month ends.
What is it about spring that lifts our spirits so? And we didn’t have that bad a winter? Only one really bad snowfall here in New Jersey although other parts of our Northeast got a lot more. I think spring tells us things will change, usually for the better. We certainly hope so.
Spring is also a time for cleaning up, a time to clean up our minds of extraneous matter. It goes well with Lent, a time to open our minds and hearts to what really counts – the relationships we have with each other on a deep human level, opening ourselves to whatever may come. We open the windows of our homes to breathe in the fresh spring air; may we open the windows of our hearts as well.
Prayer for the Day
Asking for mercy we come to you, Holy Friend,
For we know that the heart of friendship is love;
Harboring old grudges that we hid deep inside us,
We ask for your help in erasing them from our hearts.
May we learn to embrace as we have been embraced,
And to be as generous as you have been with us.
In the name of him who embodies your generosity,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.
- Rainier Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (1875-1926)
Every spring I hear the thrush singing in the glowing woods he is only passing through. His voice is deep, then he lifts it until it seems to fall from the sky. I am thrilled. I am grateful.
- Mary Oliver, from “In our Woods” (1935-2019)
Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord whose appearing is as sure as the dawn;
God will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.
Hosea 6:3