Spring of Hope

It's spring again which is a beautiful time of year around here very much like where you are.  Our city has taken great care to plant amazing amounts of trees and flowering plants almost everywhere you look. It is always so encouraging to walk in the warm spring breezes and take in all the vibrant colors. It is a reminder of His majesty and for me it's a reminder that He makes all things new.  Every year without fail new plants spring up, new flowers blossom and in a short amount of time all traces of the long cold winter are wiped away.  Spring is also the time of year when everything in our community begins it's yearly renewal.  People announce their plans for the fall; we learn if they are returning or taking a different path.  It is always bittersweet when they announcements are made and the plans revealed.  Sometimes you can be so happy for someone who is moving on to something exciting or amazing, maybe even something they have prayed over for years, but at the same time you realize it means your path's will part and you might not enjoy their company again this side of heaven.  On the flip side a little bit of excitement starts to develop for the new coming semester and the new faces you will surely meet.  It's always an adventure.

It is also the time of year when we are forced to re-evaluate our lives and decide along with everyone else here if this is the place for us.  Because of the transient lifestyles we live, each year we must renew our apartment contract or move, renew our contract at our job or find a new one, and then last but most risky, take our visa in for renewal. That one is completely out of our hands.   All of these things happen for all of us every year at this time.  So it naturally brings with it a time of reflection where we sit down and ask ourselves some hard questions. Why are we here?  What are we hoping to accomplish here?  Is this still the place He has for us?  Are we seeing Him at work in and through our lives?  What about our family health? is our marriage strong? are our kids thriving?  Have we gotten lost or off course in the craziness of life?  Is our focus still clear?  What are our goals for the next year and our long term goals, are we still moving in the right direction of pleasing Him with our lives?  We ask ourselves a lot of questions, make decisions about what needs to change and what needs stay the same, and start to ready our hearts for the ending of this year, and the beginning of a new one.  

It is a bit unsettling to have to do this every year.  We will most likely never own a home where we can for sure stay year after year.  Job contracts here are not usually long term so they can't be counted on either.  And the visa process is left every year up to the whim of officials with ever changing lists of rules and requirements that are dizzying to keep up with.  Nothing about our life is ever settled or certain except for HIM.  Year after year, decision after decision, change after change, and EVERY time He has taken care of us.  We are marking the end of 5 years in China, which came after 5 years in America, and this summer will be 10 years of marriage.  In those years we have had 4 different homes, 6 different jobs between us, 3 different schools for our kids, and 5 different visa renewals.  Friends and family come and go in and out of our lives in a rhythmic yearly flow.  We have learned that nothing in life is permanent and you must enjoy each season as different from the last and try to find the beauty in it.  Woven throughout this 10 year journey of ours and even much farther back into our childhoods is the ever constant thread of His grace in our lives.  In every change He has been faithful.  So despite the uncertainty and the ups and downs, we find that our love for each other is still strong, our children are miraculously thriving, and our lives are an adventure we couldn't have imagined and would never change.  We are poignantly aware of the fact that this has nothing to do with us.  Everywhere we look we see His hand, guiding us, helping us, forgiving us, and providing for us.  So as unsettling as this yearly decision time is, it is also a fantastic time of introspection, of refocus, and of rejoicing as we look back on His faithfulness and walk forward in His grace.  For me it is very fitting that all this reflection and renewal happen each year as the plants grow and the flowers bloom.  It is a visual reminder of His goodness and bolsters my confidence to trust Him as He makes our lives new yet again for the coming year.  

Isaiah 55:10 “For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace, the mountains shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come the cypress, instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”