flowers – Michele Huey

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. –John 20:31 NIV

Easter for me as a child meant a new outfit, which included a spring-like dress, shiny new shoes and a frilly Easter bonnet that would give Diane, the girly-girl of our class, a run for her money. Easter was time to put away the heavy, dark winter coat and bring out the lightweight, pastel-colored one. It also meant brightly dyed eggs, jelly beans, chocolate, and homemade bread and Easter cheese, which we called cirak.

One year my family spent Easter weekend at our cabin in the mountains near Cook Forest. Easter was early that year. We’d found a small country church a few miles away, so Mom packed our Easter clothes. I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, where the weather is much more spring-like even in late March than in the mountains. We awoke that Sunday morning to blowing snow and frigid temperatures. I shivered all through the church service in my fancy dress, white anklets, patent leather shoes, and short jacket. I never forgot the Easter it snowed.

Now that I live in the western Pennsylvania mountains, I know not to put away the winter wardrobe too soon. The daffodils will bow under the snow, and tree leaves won’t appear until mid-May. It doesn’t matter whether Easter comes at the end of March or the end of April—we still can get snow.

I grew up associating Easter with spring and with blooming flowers and greening trees. Now I know a different truth: Sometimes winter doesn’t want to let go.

Focusing on a new Easter outfit or the long-anticipated arrival of spring, however, is focusing on the wrong thing. It’s easy to forget what Easter is really all about, which is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

Because He conquered death, we, too, can conquer death. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He told Martha before bringing her dead brother Lazarus back to life. “He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25 NIV)

Easter means much more than a goodie basket and competing with the prettiest girl in class for the frilliest dress. Easter means much more than warm weather, flowers, and green grass.

It means the winter of the soul has lost its grip.

Because Jesus conquered death, I can experience an internal, eternal spring: “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, The Message)

Snow on Easter? So what? It’s always spring inside my heart.

Lord, let me see the flowers beneath the snow. Amen.

Read and reflect on John 20.

See! The winter is past . . . Flowers appears on the earth; the season of singing has come. – Song of Solomon 2:12 NIV

“New” is in the works these days. It’s exciting. And a little daunting.

Hubby’s retirement is on the horizon, and it’s been what’s occupied my mind and my schedule for the past several months. (Which is why I’ve put fiction writing on the back burner.)

A new beginning. For him. For us. While we’re walking away from a season in our lives, we’re walking toward another season. (No, I won’t be retiring. I love what I do. It’s a calling. This speaking and writing and ministering to my little flock.)

As we stand at this threshold, I think of Lazarus, the man whom Jesus brought back to life. He, too, had a new beginning, a new lease on life.

But he had to first come out of his tomb and then be freed from the grave clothes – strips of cloth that bound him.

I, too, have been in a tomb – a tomb of fear of the future. The unknown. The uncertainty. Will we have enough money to survive, let alone travel and live our retirement dreams?

I, too, have been bound by grave clothes: Worry, anxiety. About finances. About health. Will our health and strength hold up?

But Jesus called me – by name – out of my tomb: “Michele, come out! Be unbound. Be loosed.”

I need not fear the future. As Corrie ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

He holds my future. He guides me, protects me, provides for me. I need to read Psalms 23, 139, and 91 every day. And remind myself of His promise to never leave me, never forsake me, to be with me always (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20).

He holds not just my future, but also my present. I need not be shackled by fear, worry, and anxiety. Yes, life happens, but I have a place to go to get what I need not just to survive but to thrive: my prayer room.

“Don’t be anxious about anything,” Paul reminds me in Philippians 4:6–7. “Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

We are all walking away from one thing or another, and walking toward something new, into a season of spring and daffodils, into a time of new beginnings, new hopes, new life.

What tomb are you being called out of? What binding do you need Jesus to loose?

More important, what new beginning are you stepping into?

Remember, you can trust the One who leads you, loves you, and lavishes His best upon you.

Thank You, Lord, for new beginnings, second chances, and hope. Thank you for spring and all it means. Amen.

“Retirement is a NEW beginning, your chance to reset life, expand on your interests and find new opportunities for your best retired years.” – Wendy S. Fisher

Read and meditate on John 11:38–44

Michele Huey

Tag: flowers

The Easter It Snowed

New Beginnings

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