Springtime In Winter – Rev. Brooks

Unseasonably warm temperatures earlier this week brought thoughts of springtime. However, nearly everyone I spoke with who mentioned the weather added a quick caveat: “But we might still get hit with a blizzard!” Sad but true in ever changing Ohio.

One frigid Saturday not long ago, in less than sixty minutes I spoke by “ham radio” to 11 countries from Europe to South America. Two exchanges were especially memorable. A retired doctor on Grand Cayman Island said it was 81 degrees that morning as he watched an iguana lying in the sun on his dock. The next contact was with a man in Fairbanks, Alaska, where it was 41 degrees below zero! Last week it was almost 80 below near Fairbanks.

We enjoy unseasonable warmth whenever it arrives unexpectedly during winter but we know it won’t last because weather is so changeable. Life is, too. Some days seem bright and sunny then suddenly a storm rises over the horizon and a blizzard howls in.

What resources do we possess to strengthen us and maintain an inner sense of springtime even while it’s winter all around?