Spring is an incredible time if one stops to notice. I cannot imagine more shades of green than one finds in the hills of Tennessee, there is a surprising batch of new flowers in bloom each week in London, and one finds a sense of being alive at every corner. Fresh air and new beginnings are available to anyone taking the time to stop, look, and experience.
The link to our journey with God is especially strong this time of year. Each day is a young spring day with God. New potential and beginnings are available to you and I. “The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you [and I] from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” (Romans 8.2) The question remains; are we willing to stop, look, and experience?
It is too easy to be critical about yourself or another person’s journey. Our failures and weaknesses can be an open book, asking for self-criticism and ridicule. While not minimizing our dark sides, we urgently need to bring perspective to the picture in order to see the opportunity before us.
God knew and knows our failings far better than we do. He understands and sees our ability to continue failing, no matter what we otherwise say or promise, does not surprise God or change God’s gift to us. Our worth, self-esteem, and potential is defined by God’s response to who we are. Our true potential of being everything that we can be rests on God’s unconditional gift to us.
I find in my own steps an amazing number of missed opportunities each day. I wish I could see improvement but I do not. I do see that my awareness of where and how I fail increasing so accurate comparisons with the past are not really relevant; the question is what am I going to do with the future?
Each day, each hour, and every decision is an opportunity for fresh air; more than anything else, I want to inhale.
