It was a cold January day in Michigan. The snow fell and the wind blew snow drifts onto the driveway. I sat on the sofa wrapped in an afghan as I sipped hot tea. The weather man reported temperatures in the single digits with a chill factor below zero. I was thankful to be indoors, but I still felt cold. This isn’t going to last forever, I said to myself, spring will be here before you know it.
Fast forward 40 years. It was a cold January day in Florida. The branches of the palm trees swayed and the wind howled. I sat on the sofa wrapped in an afghan as I sipped hot tea. The weather man reported temperatures in the 30’s with a chill factor in the 20’s. My younger self would have scoffed at the idea that these were cold temperatures. But my senior bones and my Florida blood begged to differ. I was thankful to be indoors, but I still felt cold. This isn’t going to last forever, I said to myself, spring will be here before you know it.
As I look back, every January has found me longing for spring. And every year… spring comes! The temperatures rise, the flowers bloom, the trees blossom. How delightful it is…for a day or two. Then the flowers and blossoms and comfortable temperatures become routine. My misery in being cold always seems to to exceed my delight in being warm. It seems to be human nature that our grumbling about negative things is louder than our rejoicing about good things. Let’s change that this year.
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NKJV). God loves to see His children rejoicing. Spring is a delightful gift from God. This year let us resolve to enjoy spring. Let us savor the beauty. Let our exclamations about the wonder of spring far exceed our complaints about the misery of the cold. Let’s make this the most appreciated spring ever!
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