Spring is a time for renewal

The weather of March can be deceitful. It gives birth to the hope that spring is near, only to remind us how long reaching the fingers of winter can be. Yet those days of warm sunshine and the smells of cool spring rain warm the heart, brighten the psyche and the comfort the soul.

The renewal that dances with spring is never far from the creator of all. Psalm 104 poetically recounts the days of creation. Drawing us to ponder through observing creation the greatness of the works of the Lord.

The Psalmist writes: "You make springs pour water into the ravines, so streams gush down from the mountains. They provide water for all the animals, and the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees. You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor." (Psalm 104:10-13, NLT)

For many of us, spring is synonymous with new life. Garden centers are bursting with new plants anxiously waiting to find their homes. The measure of a good spring day is when your hands smell like dirt. In our hurry to get out of homes that have entrapped us for so many months, how easy it is to forget that the Lord is the one who has caused spring. The Lord is the one who causes new life.

The Lord fashions the spring to pour waters down from the mountains. He floods the plains with the waters. He sparks the roots to burst from the seed. He provides the waters that quench the thirst of the wildest and most stubborn of us all. His water grows and strengthens the branches of the mighty oak, yielding shelter to the birds whose song brightens our morning and creating shade for the hot days that are to come.

The Lord is the renewer of life. In a time when so much seems out of our control it is comforting to know that nothing is beyond his. His care and provision for the smallest of creatures is so great, how much more is his for men and women who are crafted in his own image.

As the words of the old hymn say, "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

Seek him first, he cares for you.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.