My kids came home from school a couple of days ago and said, “Hey Dad, did you know that today was the first day of Spring?” I looked out the window and noticed the sunshine, the blue sky, the bare trees blowing in the breeze, and of course the layer of white that covered my lawn. I thought, “there is no way that can be right”.
A quick Google search confirmed what they told me. The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere was at 6:28 am on March 20th. I had no idea it was that specific. However, specificity is not necessarily the same as accuracy. The calendar may have said Spring but the snow on the ground disagreed. After two days of sun and warm weather I can now see my grass again.
It got me thinking about this passage from Lamentations.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
It struck me that they were written by Jeremiah, the “suffering prophet”, who wrote them in a book that could literally be titled, “sadness”. But these aren’t sad words they are happy words. They are like the buds that pop out of the bare trees, the bright green of newly growing grass, or spring flowers pushing out of the ground reminding us that new life can spring out of desolation.
With Spring comes change, and I’ve lived in the Northeast long enough to know what happens to us when we start to sense that warmer weather and longer days are near. We start checking off the holiday boxes: Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and then it’s summer and we all do just enough work to make sure that we’re getting the job done for a couple months before revving up again in the fall. If the winter has been particularly cold and long, I’ve even noticed that we compensate by extending our summer–some years we start acting like it’s summer time as soon as Easter services are concluded!
We change with the seasons. Our attitudes change. Our feelings change. Our senses change. Sometimes, even our bodies change!
These words from Lamentations, however, are a reminder that God doesn’t change. He is faithful to us during the normal seasons and transitions of our life. His love is steadfast, even during changing seasons. His mercies never end.
Spring is here. God is faithful. Happy words indeed.