Not a very imaginative title, I'm afraid, but perhaps this is about as much imagination I can come up with on a very, very snowy and cold day here in South Bend. The winter of 2015 seems like it will not end. After a rather mild and meek start to the winter here, the weather in South Bend has taken a very winterish (shall we say Arcticish?) turn over the past six weeks. In some ways it has been a wonderful return to the harder winters of Michiana after spending the last 8 years in gentler climates in Indiana, however, after canceling another worship service at Willow Creek UMC yesterday evening, my patience broke and my complaints about the snow and cold came through loud and clear to my husband John. Give us snow, Lord, but could we please not have to cancel worship? Another storm is getting ready to hit the Midwest and our area on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. I suppose I need to be open to the possibility of another Sunday of low attendance or cancelation.
It's good to write again here on the blog. It's been too long, but I've been a little busy with life overhaul and change these past 18 months. In October of 2013 I met my husband and it has been a whirlwind of love and change ever since! We met in October of 2013 and married in March of 2014, I changed churches in July of 2014 and moved back to South Bend during that same time period. It's been a busy year and a half; good, fulfilling and one of the best decisions I've made in this life of mine. No one is perfect, but John is the perfect husband for me and I am a much better person because of his entry and lasting status in my life. More about this later.
Most importantly, for this blog and hopefully the blogging that will follow throughout the days and weeks of Lent, it is the time of Holy Lent. 40 days of deliberately turning our lives back toward God to prepare for the Messiah. 40 days of remembering who we are in God's eyes (beloved children) and working and waiting to be better people of God through God's grace and love. 40 days of preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the foundation of my faith and perhaps yours. 40 days of increasing hope of the newness and freshness of life that can come through interior change, the grace of God, and the coming of spring. 40 days of heart and mind transformation as we seek God and God's will, and do God's work here on earth.
I hope to post a picture of what it looks like outside here in South Bend today. And hopefully can post a picture of what things look like on Easter Sunday or shortly thereafter. My guess is that the pictures will be radically different from one another and hopefully in a good way. If your heart reflects the cold, wind, snow, and blizzard like conditions that our weather outside is giving us today, my prayer for you is that by the time Easter comes, your heart will reflect the newness of hope that the love of God and the season of spring can bring in warmer weather and spring like weather conditions. May God work a good thing in your life these 40 days of Lent.
Blessings and hope, Kathy
