April 01st, 2019

April 1, 2019
 
            “April Fool,” I responded when my husband the early riser informed me that our springtime world was covered with 4 inches of snow. Then I looked out the window and decided that it was Mother Nature who had played the April Fool joke on us because, sure enough, there was the snow. Is it serious? No – only something to create mud when my husband was looking forward to returning to cowboy work when the mud finished drying up.
            The meadowlarks, killdeers, and roseate finches are singing in the snow. They will survive, partly because we feed them with my feeder, seeds in the horse hay, and seeds on the old grasses and bushes in the meadows. But today they are a reminder that God sustains us despite the things that happen in our lives.
            Has it snowed on your bright promising landscape recently? Has it rained on your parade? It certainly did on mine when friends I was counting on did not come for my program at the spring tea. However, a dear friend reminded me that the focus needed to be on the ones who did come and who responded to what I had to share.
            One of the lessons of Lent is that our Savior dealt with lots of negativity during His ministry. He not only had to face down the Devil in the wilderness (if you haven’t read that passage lately, be sure to look at the fourth chapter of Matthew – it’s amazing!). He also had to face people who did not believe Him, who opposed Him, who doubted Him, and who eventually would turn completely against Him.
            What Jesus did in reaction to these things touches both my heart and my spirit. He simply answered when necessary – and so often put people like the Pharisees in their place – and otherwise went about His Father’s business. He focused on the people who needed Him, the people who were despairing or frustrated, and gave them what they needed. Loaves and fishes along with words of salvation – that was Jesus’ response to our needs.
            This snow will melt, my husband will be back to work, and God’s world will burst with spring beauty leading to the time of Jesus’ Resurrection. Hallelujah!