SIGNS OF SPRING

by Barbara Chadwick

 One day recently my husband, Kenneth, brought this little twig

that he cut from a pussy willow bush on his two mile walk in our mountains. He said, “Let’s put this in water and see if
it will open up.” 
So, sure enough, about three weeks later voila!

At this time of year our eyes are always searching for signs of spring. It comes late at our altitude of 8,870 feet. We watch the lakes for the ice to thaw. We look and listen for robins. We get excited when we see the ground squirrels peeking their heads out of their holes in the dirt. As we drive down the mountain we smile when we see tiny shoots of green poking up between the dead grasses of winter.

In every area of life we look for signs:

Pain:  We either call the Dr. or we try to figure out what is causing it to know what pill to take.
Water leak: We examine the pipes.
Brakes quit: We jack up the car, examine the stuff (my word :)) underneath and go buy a part or just have it towed to the mechanic.
Flashing lights in eyes: We look on internet and discover it can be the start of a migraine or a torn retina!

Jesus told the disciples to watch for signs:  Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Mat 24:32 

During winter our spirits are in a kind of hibernation or waiting, if you will. Signs of spring encourage our hearts, lift our spirits and fill us with hope. A life without Christ is quite like winter – waiting for something but not knowing what it is. When we give our hearts to Jesus Christ we are filled with  …the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven… that the Apostle Paul talks about in Colossians 1:5.

So today, at our house, even though it is snowing and 15 degrees, we see the signs of spring everywhere. We are encouraged that God sent the moisture to our dry Colorado mountains and we are excited that  warmer days and flowers are soon to come.

Isaiah said, Forget the former things; (we could say, “forget about your winter times”) do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

And just as we look for these signs of spring, we also look for signs that Jesus will soon return. Hosea 6:3 says, Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.