Friday Five: Moving Towards Resurrection

Dorcas says: "Though I am from a non-liturgical denomination, I find myself longing for some of the expressins others of you may experience at this time of year. The same thing happens to me during Advent. At both times I am drawn to the symbolism of darkness becoming light, of longing turning to joy. One of my favorite thngs at this time of year used to be draping the wooden cross at the rear of our sanctuary with a dark purple velvet cloth and adding a crown of (ouch!) thorns--and what a lovely thing it was to see that same cross on Easter Sunday morning, draped in glowing white with a golden, jewel-studded crown added. Not being a pastor this year, I am missing some of the symnbolism I always tried to employ. I may find a nearby Episcopalian or Lutheran congregation to visit at some point, acually.  Meanwhile, today I am asking for your thoughts on that movement from darkness to light. Tell us five ways in which you are anticipating, or your life is moving towards light, joy, hope--new things: new ideas, new hobbies, new people...and so on."

• One of the things that we have been so longing for in the cold, dark North, this year especially, are some signs of Spring.  It has been a very long Winter, and a hard one for many people, and with it has come a lot of darkness of spirit as well as the literal darkness of this season. I am happy to report that there appear to be some very real signs that we are coming into the light! The robins are back and are fat and sassy as they root around in the thawing yards for something good to eat as well as beginning to look for things to nest with.  The little green shoots are beginning to peep out in the warm places next to the house where the sun shines longest.  The trees have lost their stark winter look and have that blurry edge that tells us there are buds about to happen. The days are longer, and even when it snows (which it still will do, yes even in April) it's not long before it melts away.  Today was the first official "no-coat" day in which I went off to work in only my hoodie...brave me!
• I've had the opportunity to preach a couple times this Lent, and have been thinking about what happens when people were encountered by Jesus and all the various ways that he brought new life to those who met him...Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the blind man, Lazarus, to name just a few. 
• I've been thinking about all the changes in my own life...those that have been and those to come.  I spent last weekend cleaning (more like excavating) through the dressers and closets of a room that hadn't really seen much action on that front in quite some time.  It was kind of like a walk back through history with lots of  the attendant emotions. Although it's not always easy, it's really good to purge all that old stuff. It moves out some things to make space to let some light in.   It reminds me too, of how much more light is in my life now than there has ever been, of just how very much I have to be grateful for. Even the darkness these days is not as dark as in some of those times I'm looking back on.  God has blessed me greatly.
• There is movement afoot. Change is coming, big change that I can't say a lot about at this point.  But I am hopeful that it will be all about light and joy and the movement of God's spirit in a new way in our lives.
• There is the light at the end of the tunnel for the house projects.  This is truly a good and wonderful thing. We are down to one ceiling remaining to be painted and one toilet yet to be installed.  Then it's clean it and spiff it and we are DONE! External motivation is a good thing sometimes.  A bright and pretty environment can affect how we feel about our living space in the now as well as some pretty important things in our future, so it's a win-win all around!