Pastor's Note

EACH YEAR IS NEW
April 20th, 2008

I was going through some photographs from past years. Among the pictures was a spring picture of several crocuses and daffodils in bright purples and yellows. Among the photos from the following year were a few more pictures of crocuses and daffodils, each in full bloom. And as I looked at the pictures I had taken the next year, sure enough, there were some more daffodils and crocuses announcing that spring had come.
Apparently, each year I have similar thoughts as I look at the early spring flowers.
With relief that winter is over, I find the early flowers especially inviting and exciting. They offer so much hope for the future. I can’t resist snapping a photograph each time.
You would think that a good picture one year would be enough. But each year we need to be reminded that spring follows winter and new life prevails. That is worth celebrating. That is worth another photo.
There are lessons of life that we need to hear or see over and over. For example, we have to be reminded that love requires sacrifice, that faith gets us through the hardest of times, and that peace is built on justice.
Sometimes, like the beauty of a spring flower, these lessons are forgotten. But when those memories are called to mind, then we are all enriched.