The past few weeks have been really gloomy —the gloom that comes from cloudy, cold, wet weather that February is known for. It has reached the point of the season (as it does every year) when “the gloomy” is constant. The gray is just there. You wake up to gray skies, they follow you through the day. And even when the sun does come out, it’s a harsh, cold light that paints a stark landscape. It is winter, after all.
But one recent Sunday afternoon, as I walked up the stairs to our second floor, I noticed something different. The light in the hallway was bright and warm. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows, creating patterns on the floors. Rooms seemed to come alive. I was struck by how the feeling had changed. It was if I was getting a preview of what’s to come. For that afternoon, the “gloominess” was gone.
Another lift of “the gloom?” The tulip bulb on our windowsill is sprouting, as are the two on the dining room table downstairs. They are in pottery containers with nothing but rocks and water, yet they are growing tall and strong, with the light urging them on. The bulbs came from a Moravian Girls’ Retreat my wife attended at Camp Hope in the dead of winter. Now they signal the beginning of spring.
The sunlit rooms and sprouting tulip bulbs offer the promise of better days ahead. Yes, the trees were still gray; the grass, tan; the garden, muddy. But that particular Sunday afternoon, I could feel we’d turned the corner, and that before long, the world would feel more alive once more.
As we continue through the season of Lent, we can see signs of the coming Light, of the potential for happier days ahead. Yes, this is a solemn time to ponder Jesus’ journey to the cross. Spiritually, this can be a gloomy time of year. But we know that come Easter Sunday, we will be celebrating renewed life and glorious resurrection. It makes the gloomy days today worth it, knowing what’s waiting for us.
I hope you enjoy this issue of The Moravian. In it, we celebrate the consecration of the first bishop in the growing Moravian Church in Cuba; preview the upcoming Southern Province Synod; highlight the work of the Unity Women’s Desk; share writings for Palm Sunday; and continue our “Create in Me” series that shares worship resources and ideas.
Peace,
Mike
