Sunday, March 27, 2011

SPRING FORWARD

Spring is a wonderful time of year!  Where I'm living in the northeast it means brighter days, warmer temperatures and goodbye heating bills. If that doesn't make you do a happy dance how about it ushering in those beautifully fragrant flowers of May and reacquainting us with life out of doors.  Uncover the grill, drop the awnings and get out your spade...it's spring again!  After a hard cold winter it's good to feel the warmth of the sun.  Those changes play out in our lives as well.  Everything about spring says new life and move forward.  Move forward in your life in every area even if in very tiny steps...just keep going.  We all know stagnant water turns bad with smelly stuff festering in it.  Well, stagnant lives do the same.  Regardless of age, financial status or level of education we can all find some way to keep advancing.  From eating better, exercising more or taking those piano lessons you've wanted for fifty years.  Buy a farm [if you've got it like that] or buy a book you've always wanted to read but never did.  Make that move and do something to propel your life to a better place.  Spring brings out the hope in people, an urge to do something spectacular or at least different.  How spectacular depends on the individual but progress is characterized by advancement within it's self not comparatively.  The small slow movements of a snail is as important as the giant gallops of a Giraffe.  It gets them both where they want to go.

Spiritually Believers and Disciples of Christ Jesus should be constantly moving forward [upward] in our spiritual journey.  From Glory to Glory, as we say in the faith, our direction should always be toward Jesus' ever present example from the Scriptures.  Moving forward is ingrained in GOD's creation and the human culture.  We set our spring time clocks by the phrase...spring forward to remind us what direction we should change the time.  The Bible says our help comes from above to remind us which way we should cast our eyes.  In this respect forward is up and I for one want to move on and go forward.  Therefore I keep my vision up and try to keep moving.  I remember when I learned to drive.  I was told to look in the direction I wanted the car to go, not at the lines but the center of the lines where I wanted to point the vehicle.  Apparently where we  focus is where we go.

So this spring  move forward in some way.  Spiritually for instance you could start increasing your quiet time with the Lord, going to one of those Christian retreats or taking a Bible study course.  Maybe extending yourself to help others more or sacrificing a little pleasure for someone other person's benefit.  Physically move forward  in maybe ramping up your exercise or getting in the habit of drinking more water.  Don't forget relationally either.  Spending more quality time with family and friends even if it's just through phone calls or mailing a card saying you're thinking about them. Intimate contact is a dying art with all this technology jazz.  Email and texting is crippling our ability to write well and compromising our attention spans.  Plus we're becoming a society starving for genuine personal contact but that's for another blog.  For now think how you need to move forward this spring.  Blessings to all.

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