Clear away the Old Stuff First

Sing to the LORD a new song; *
sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; *
let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy
before the LORD when he comes, *
when he comes to judge the earth.

I don't think it's a mistake that the word "Lent" was derived from means Spring. We spend the last days of this particularly miserable winter preparing for the world to come back to life. If we're lucky, we may even have flowers from our gardens for the cross on Easter morning...but not yet. First we have to prepare for it. We have to wait and watch for Spring and resurrection to get here to meet us. We have to believe it will come. It's not easy. The grass is dry and brown, the roses are withered on the bush (no, I didn't dead-head that last bunch) and there's a cascade of dead parsley right there. Right there just staring us in the face.

Lent is a good time to clean up the flower beds of our lives. Under that cascade of dead parsley there's new growth. It's waiting for me right there in the front yard, but I need to clear away the old stuff first. That's what Lent is good for. Clear away the old stuff first---new life is waiting underneath.

~Leslie Terrell