Spring has Sprung

In chilly Minnesota, winter may well be what we're known for. But this year, after one of the mildest Minnesota winters in history, I am reminded of our glorious springtime and all that Spring in Minnesota means. After hibernating all winter, we get to re-meet our neighbors, grills come out with the first sight of the back patio and adults as well as kids run around in shorts when the thermometer hits 50 for the first time. Spring has sprung a whole month early this year, record high temperatures matched with record low snow falls have made Minnesota gloriously giddy about the arrival of my favorite season.

The best part of spring may well be the hope and message of life out of death. Our perennials are all sprouting, pure green shoots poking their heads out of the ground, promising the early arrival of tulips, daffodils, and day lilies. Last fall I planted winter crocuses, which usually appear while there is still a little snow on the ground, the hope of spring after a long, cold, dark winter. This year, there is no snow, and they have bloomed early, adding brilliant flecks of color to the brown, dead grass around them.

These sweet little flowers are now blooming in the two places I long most to see life. My home, and the grave of my son. Reminding me that Life will return, we have fullness of life now with Jesus, Jairus has fullness of life in his Spirit as he dwells in the very presence of God, and one day too, his body will be sprung from the ground and reunited with his soul to complete fulfillment and the resurrection of life. I don't understand how that works, its a mystery. But I don't have to fully understand it to believe it, to relish the joy it brings me, the hope and excitement that burns deep in my soul, longing for the day when Jesus returns.

My heart has been filled with glorious joy as I see them blooming. As if the Spirit Himself whispers to my heart, "Death is not the end! Resurrection is coming! Death will itself end and all be brought back to Life!!"

 Spring, after Winter. Life, after Death.