Worth the Wait

I have been reticent to write this post. I have this strange feeling that it could be something like Sauromon's voice beckoning the brutal blizzards in The Fellowship of the Ring. But, it is mid-April, so I dare to tread ahead into this scary territory. On October 12th, Penny the Pensky (the 25 foot banana yellow beast) pulled her way from Abilene to Tulsa and on up through the Midwest to a quaint suburb of Detroit called Lake Orion. The signposts at the borders of the village beckon all to come stay here, where living is a vacation. We arrived here just in time to see the majesty of peak color and then to watch the leaves waltz to the ground. That was shock number one; the raking in Abilene is not quite the same. Oh, wait; there is no raking in Abilene. Then the winter rolled into metro-Detroit. That was shock number two; the winters are cold, and there is snow, lots and lots of snow.

Well, it is now April 19th. The past week has been beautiful. The nights have been crisp and cool. The days have been bright and sunny with the temps in the mid to upper 60s, even into the 70s. Over the weekend the brilliant yellow daffodils exploded out of their cocoons. Today, we are looking at possibly hitting the low 80s. (Look out Abilene!) I played my first 9 holes of Michigan golf last Friday at twilight. It has been beautiful.

I am starting to think that there is something brilliant about the seasons of life in a place that actually does have seasons. The winter was long and cold, by late February we were ready for any sign of spring. But, we had to wait. There is something important about the waiting. In the waiting we find life. The late winter fluctuations, teasing us with random signs of spring, then diving back into mid-winter conditions, forced upon me a deep Lenten type spirit. All around, the lifeless winter conditions begged for resurrection. Easter has come, and it has ushered the new life of spring into the Great Lakes state and into my own life and ministry here. It was well worth the wait.