Spring 2021

Spring, a time of renewal, reawakening, growth, and refreshing. The spring of 2021 feels much different to me than many recent springs. We have come through a rough 12-13 months as a country and world and my family has come through a very rough 4 years. We, like so many of you, have experienced loss at every turn. Siblings, grandparents and even career losses have occurred. Hospitalizations from various infirmities have piled up recently as well. So, my friends, this Spring is a time of setting our sails and heading into the wind of the new.

God has been faithful through these dark times and He wants us to awaken anew, having endured, the pain, show the world that we are ready to shine like never before.

While writing this blog, I have been thinking about a metaphor of these hard, dark, difficult times being like the sand in a rock tumbler.

If you put a piece of granite or a precious stone in a rock tumbler with the sand and turn it on, over time the granite or precious stone will polish and when taken out at the proper time, will shine like never before. If you put a stone in the tumbler that is like the sand, say limestone or sandstone, it will most likely become like the sand and just fade away. I have even read that the grit that comes off these stones can ruin the other stones in the tumbler.

We are the precious stones, and the sand of hard times has not broken us but rubbed off the rough edges.

Embrace the warming weather and the new flowers and yes, even the weeds. Enjoy the potential that this Spring represents.

I follow a risen Savior and, through Him, Spring also means change, rebirth, and overcoming to me. Jesus overcame the grave and death and we have new life because of Him. Unlike the natural world we live in, where if a rock is sandstone, it will always be sandstone until it is sand again, Jesus can take that piece of sandstone that is you and make it into a precious stone. We don’t have to stay what we are or where we are. Grab hold of the gift in front of you and receive the change. It is time to shine!

Ted