“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” (Song 2:11-12)

After a hard winter, signs of spring are finally beginning to appear here in Oklahoma. Birds chirp, squirrels run through the yard, and bees buzz and flit from flower to flower. As the temperatures rise and the world around me reawakens, I feel joy bloom in my heart and new energy come back into my body. This is the beauty of spring: it brings new beginnings, not only in nature, but in our own lives.

In the spring, God shows off the handiwork of his creation: trees bloom, grass turns green, flowers bud. The earth reawakens from its dormant state. What once seemed dead is now coming back to life.

Spring is a metaphor for the gospel story; it mirrors the story of Jesus, whose death and resurrection we celebrate each spring on Easter. Like spring, Easter is about new life – the new life we have in him.

The true meaning of Easter often gets lost in today’s world. We’re surrounded by fluffy bunnies and Easter baskets, we shop for new dresses, and we take our kids to Easter egg hunts. None of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but we often miss the bigger meaning.

On both sides of the Easter coin – the death and resurrection of Jesus and the trappings of today’s culture – we find the same message: death isn’t permanent, so there’s no need to fear.

With spring come signs of hope. That things are never lost. That nothing is quite as dark as it seems, even on the darkest day of the year.

The hope of eternal life in Jesus is reflected in the world around us. And while we will have ups and downs, each day only brings us closer to spending eternity with Jesus than the one before.

Dear Jesus, thank you for the renewal that spring brings, both here on earth and in our hearts. As we look toward Easter and the hope found on the cross, help us to focus our hearts and minds on you. Amen.