Tuesday, March 9, 2021
03/10/2021
Joyce Antilla Phipps
We’re supposed to have a taste of spring today. Sun, warm – well, warmer weather. We might even hear some new birds who are returning to the neighborhood. Most of the snow of February is gone, and the stores are full of seeds, bags of soil and mulch. But a voice in my head keeps saying, “It’s only March, and you know we always get something in March.”
True, over the past few years, we’ve usually had a late winter/early spring snow that melts quickly. But maybe we just got snowed out in February. At least, let’s hope so, because daffodils are starting to creep out of the earth, a beautiful sign of spring.
Spring this year promises to be better than last year when we were all looking at the constantly increasing numbers of deaths from the virus. It has been about a year that everything shut down – stores, restaurants, public transportation, work, and churches, giving us a grim Lent and an even grimmer Easter. More than merely surviving, we are overcoming.
Prayer for the Day
Your wall of hope surrounds us in our despair, O Lord,
Moving us from unbelief to faith.
Your citadel of love protects us from our anger,
Freeing us from our pride and showing us your way.
Your arms welcome us and embrace us,
Holding us in your everlasting love.
In the name of him who showed your love to us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Don't be ashamed to weep; 'tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.
- Brian Jacques, British writer (1939-2011)
Without darkness, nothing comes to birth, As without light, nothing flowers.
- May Sarton, American poet (1912-1997)
Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.
Psalm 119: 49-50
