Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.

James 5:7a

A grainy photograph from 1972 shows my sisters and me standing stiffly in front of our little New England house. The lace from our Easter dresses peeks from beneath our winter coats, and a single purple crocus blooms in the slushy snow at our feet. In South Carolina, where I live now, yellow forsythia, pink tulip trees, and Lady Banks roses adorn our Easter landscape.

Regardless of the variety, or whether they bloom in the frosty snow or the gentle sunshine, spring flowers embody hope. “Spring is coming!” they seem to say. The earth resounds with the promise of Easter: “Jesus is coming! He came long ago, and He’s coming again!” Like confetti in a heavenly parade, the pastels of spring remind us that we are inching ever closer to Jesus’s glorious return.

Lori Hatcher
Lexington, SC

Thank You, Jesus, for sprinkling our world with reminders of You. Amen.

Reflect: Which parts of spring make you think most of Jesus’ resurrection and second coming?

Read: Isaiah 35:1-2 and Hosea 6:3