Marching the Lion and the Lamb
The wind is howling around outside tonight, which naturally brings to mind the proverb that March “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Today was 60 degrees and sunny, and the first day of spring is just a couple of weeks away…if the calendar is to be believed any more than the weatherman lately!
Still I see the daffodils peeking up hopefully in the flowerbeds, checking to see if conditions are right for growth. And my youngest child will turn 8 this week. Two weeks ago, I turned 52. I know there’s a clock somewhere just ticking and ticking but I still don’t feel like I’m “old” or getting close (except for when climbing the stairs with my creaky knees and protesting joints). How did I get here…and so quickly? And what am I going to do now?
Suffice it to say that spring is coming and I feel it with every fiber of my being..a sense of hope and promise in the air. Despite the howling winds and occasional bursts of cold weather, I know warmer days are coming. Time keeps moving forward and no matter how we dislike the process of aging, it’s going to keep on marching. We can embrace it and experience each change as a gift from God, or we can fight it with wrinkle cream and hair coloring and miracle potions. Fighting it is such a selfish process, it’s all out “me” and not about anyone else.
I had an aunt who went to bed each night planning what she would wear the next day. She planned her clothing, her purse and shoes, and what pieces of jewelry she would wear. This was somehow vital to her self-esteem, but I couldn’t help thinking how much of her life must have been wasted on things that don’t matter. I don’t want that to be my legacy.
I think the Gaithers said it best,
“To know a love that’s lasting, forgiveness without blame, a peace that through the pressure still remains…the simple joys of living, my family and my friends…relationships that go on after space and time shall end, I thank you, Lord for them…
The things that last forever. The things that never die.
I’ll give myself each day I live for what I know will never, never die.
Yes, I will give myself away for things that will never die.”
