Spring Break!

       We've had a lovely break from the rigors of winter for a few days last week.  The temperatures went above freezing and the feet of snow around here melted and diminished a bit. It was wonderful to throw on my jacket and head out the door without feeling like I had to dress for a polar expedition.  But as lovely as it has been, it is only mid-February and around here, that means there is still plenty of winter left and the weather this week seems bent on proving that winter still has a grip on us.
       I have to confess though, that Spring beckons.  I look longingly at the sale brochures that come in the mail and the paper advertising garden seed, planters, and garden tools.  I see the ads with models wearing thin cotton shirts, shorts, and sandals and I get a little resentful as I put on my layers of shirts and sweaters and warm socks.  Getting dressed for winter's cold can be quite a process.
       Today, we have once again traded sunny skies for gray skies, and some flakes and the lows tonight will again be well below zero.  Winter is not over.  And now as the predictions for spring flooding grow more dire, I have found myself agreeing that it is a good thing that the cold has returned to slow down the melting.  Whether I like it or not, we need a slow and gentle spring thaw with a delayed return to warmth.
       With all of the snow that has been around all winter, I found myself wondering where snow is in the Bible.  I didn't look to just find references comparing things to the whiteness of snow but instead, I wanted to find something about snow and winter.  I didn't expect much, after all, the scriptures come to us from the mid-east which is not known for its' snow storms!  I suppose at the base of my search was the question, "where is God in the snow?"
       In Job, I found a good description of winter.  "For to the snow God says, 'Fall on the earth'; ... Then the animals go into their lairs and remain in their dens.  Form its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.  By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast." (Job 37:6-10)  It goes on, "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of god." (Job 37:14)
       Some might consider my wonderings as foolish and perhaps a waste of time but I share them as an example.  From ancient times on, people have searched scripture longing to find themselves, their experiences, and their questions.  There is reassurance in finding ourselves in the stories, realizing that we do belong just as we are.  When we read scripture, it helps to bind the hope and grace of the good news to our hearts.  And so when I read of the frailty and failings of the disciples, I find the possibility that God can use even me.  Find yourself in God's story and find grace.  Read Isaiah 55:10-11.

Who Is That Old Lady?

       I remember when I was younger, thinking that one "became" a grown-up in the sense that being an adult changed you.  One day, a dear friend once shared with me one of her favorite memories.  I think it makes a wonderful parable.
       When she was 16, she spent the day with her grandmother who was in her 80's.  They went to the nearby town for the sidewalk sale and spent the day wandering around downtown.  They went window shopping, trying on things and looking through everything that was on sale.  Her grandmother bought her a strappy pair of gold high-heeled sandals that her mother would never have allowed.  They tried on lipsticks, ate hot fudge sundaes, and giggled their way through the day, having fun.
       At the end of the day, they came back to her grandmother's house.  There was a mirror on the wall in the entryway by the front door.  They came in laughing when her grandmother stopped right in front of the mirror and exclaimed, "Who is that old woman?"  My friend said that was when she realized that they had spent the whole day like two girlfriends.  Her grandmother hadn't felt "old" or different at all; they just had fun!
       My daughter was just a small child when I heard that story but I have remembered that and tried to have some of those days with her as we have both grown older.  I think it has been a good for us, learning to carve out fun together within the bonds of love.
       Sometimes we have a tendency to confuse being adult or being wise with being stiff, pompous or unwilling to change as if age sets us in stone.  As churches this often gets translated into what some call 'the seven last words of the church'; "We've never done it that way before".  Or when adults look at children or youth and 'shush' or 'tisk' at them with those looks that say, "You'd better behave".  It's as if we are worried that too much fun or creativity will cause us to lose our dignity.
       We need to both remember and pass on the lessons and wisdom we have learned in living but we also need to hold on to those best parts of ourselves that let us belly laugh, think outside of all the boxes, and accept people as they are.  Children have a firmer grasp of faith often in that when they believe or love, it just is without reserve.
       Once, when serving communion, after blessing a young child and moving on, he stood there hanging on to the communion rail with tears running down his face and said loudly, "Jesus loves me.  I need Jesus.  I want Jesus too."  I wondered then and have thought since, 'how many adults would have given as clear a confession and dared to speak out and demand communion?'  When the disciples asked Jesus "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", he out a child among them.  He said that we must become like children.  Read Matthew 18:1-5