Dear Lord,
I hear them all around me when I'm out walking - the birds are singing their hallelujahs. The air is filled with the fragrance of new blossoms and the fields are blanketed in purple, blue, pink and yellow. It's beautiful - this feeling of renewal and hope and joy.
I'm grateful Father. In my mind, Spring reminds me of who You are - faithful, unchanging, creative, the giver of life.
But in the midst of all that beauty, there are reminders of death and loss. It is never far away, is it Lord? I sit outside in the stillness. The same breeze that brings the sweet fragrance of Mountain Laurel sweeps through the live oaks and scatters the dead and dying leaves all over the ground. The once glossy leaves are brown and brittle, and I can hear them hit the ground, like drops of rain.
So much loss, Lord. So much sorrow all around me. Precious lives cut short; loved ones struggling with illness; a dear friend slowly losing all those precious memories once stored in her mind and heart; families falling apart. And these are just the ones that touch my life. What of all the suffering and evil in the world around me? How can Your heart bear it all, Father?
My simple heart longs for You to come and make everything new. Like a fresh spring shower, wash away the ugly and let us wake to beauty. And I hear You whisper - "One day."
Easter is coming. Coming with the promise of "One day."
You have given us so many gifts, Lord. The gift of free will holds the answer to so many of the "Whys." It places eternity in our hands. You have given us every answer, even the ones we are not wise enough to understand this side of heaven, in Jesus. But we must choose to unwrap the gift and make it our own.
Thank You for Easter, Lord.
Love,
Linda
