Dear Friends:
Last week,
during the rains, I knew that spring was here. It was the smell and not
the calendar that told me. We've had rain earlier, but those were
winter showers. There wasn't the fragrance of spring in them.
Winter can
hold on for only so long, and then spring twists free, giddy with the
sights and sounds and especially the smells that are peculiar to this
awakening season. Occasionally winter makes a late attempt to regain
control, but any success it enjoys is shortlived. Life and growth will
have their way.
The growth
that we enjoy in our congregation is often tempered by loss and setback.
A freezing emotional blast withers the tender shoots of hope. Death,
relocation, and declining health leave the remainder feeling less
confident.
Yet we are
resilient. We trust that Christ is leading us into a new season of
growth and fruitfulness. We rejoice in signs of regeneration,
strengthening commitment, greater openness to the inner work of the Holy
Spirit, increasing desire to know, serve, and share Christ.
Some days
seem more springlike around our church than others. Some weeks bring
another dose of emotional winter. But our confidence is in the One who
brings life out of death, who provides this annual environmental
reminder of the renewing process that God desires to recreate within our
hearts and minds, and within the family-community of our congregation.
Your
partner in ministry,
Jeff
