Surprised By An Early Spring

If you live here in the Northeast – and especially in the NYC metro region – I’m sure you’ve noticed that, although we haven’t even finished the month of March the daffodils are up, the dogwoods are in bloom, and the grass is going to need to be mowed soon.  It’s amazing. Although technically spring always arrives the same time each year, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the signs of spring this early in the year. Yes, it’s been nice having had a mild winter. And, we’ve enjoyed the warm weather.  But, this early spring still seems a bit odd to me.  It’s really quite a surprise.

Of course, one of the downsides to the early arrival of spring is the early arrival of the allergy season. So those of us who are allergy sufferers are sneezing and blowing our noses earlier in the year than usual.  Then there’s the “How should I dress?” and “Where are I my short-sleeve shirts?” questions, as we try to figure out how to dress on a day that is suddenly hitting a temperature above 70 degrees.  After all, just a few days ago it was still in the 50’s.  And, do we need to prepare the lawn mower already?  I still haven’t packed away the snow blower (which I was glad not to have used much this year!) and I just put away the snow shovel. 

We all know the seasons can be unpredictable. And for sure, life itself can be quite unpredictable—often filled with all kinds of surprises, good and bad! That’s what makes life exciting, interesting, and scary all at the same time.  We can usually figure out the general patterns of life, but the details often feel like they’ve been left to the wind.  So, our lives take their twists and turns and we never really do know what’s around the next corner. 

Thankfully, there is One who does know—and he is never surprised by the seemingly sudden events of our lives.  God is not surprised by either an early spring in the northeast nor the things that happen in my life that tend to leave me stunned.  He knows my life from beginning to end.

The Psalmist wrote, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16 – NIV) In other words, nothing that happens in my life is a surprise to God.  And, that means that I can trust him to stay ahead of me, take care of me, and to watch over me, no matter what surprises may come my way.  And, the same is true for you. 

Let’s trust God with our lives.  He’s never caught by surprise! 

Have a great day and enjoy the spring-like weather—at least as long as it lasts!

Pastor Tim Harris