In the beginning

 It’s hard to believe it is March already. Hard to believe Easter is on its way. But it is and it is time to prepare. Not just our tables. But our hearts and minds. It is something we surely must do. Reflect on the reality of what Jesus went through for you and me. And the glorious ending (beginning?)

This event deserves real time and consideration. In the excitement of being on the verge of spring bursting forth all in color and warmth, let us remember the time those flower bulbs and seeds spent in the dark underground to get here. Let us remember the generations of sin, including our own, that created this need for rescue from the dark as well.

We, too, have been in a dark place - spiritually.  Separated from God. Buried beneath the weight of the world. Some, at times, have lost sight of the beauty that lies ahead. Jesus didn’t. Real God and yet real Man too. He felt the darkness of being separated from the Father; buried beneath the weight of sin… He experienced it in real time.

And yet, while times of darkness are a reality, there is also a promise that it will not consume us. 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5

In the beginning… Genesis 1, there was darkness for a time. But then God….

Seeds planted deep into the darkness of underground for a season. But then God….

As we step into the Lenten season, let us consider and ponder and feel the darkness His faithful followers and Jesus Himself experienced in their “Lenten season” leading to the cross.

But then God…

Every time, God has taken the darkness/death and resurrected something wonderful.

So it shall be again. Just as you have hope in the seeds planted and the coming springtime, also have hope and patient endurance as we walk the Lenten road and journey in remembering all that took place before that glorious resurrection.

 Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. He took Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair. Then he told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awake with me.” - Matthew 26:36-38 TLB