Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
Someone once said,
"It's always darkest just before they turn on the lights,"
but what if someone already pulled the plug?
I have hugged my snowman.
I have stuck out my tongue to taste cascading snowflakes.
I have made enough snow angels in my yard
to staff an angelic army.
I have embraced winter.
But frankly,
I thought this was just a dating relationship,
not a lifetime commitment.
There were so many winter storms this year,
that meterologists started naming them alphabetically,
just as in hurricane season.
Hurricanes normally get cute names like Sandy, Susie or Louie.
You know you are in trouble when the winter storms
coming at you are named Maximus, Titan, and Vulcan.
Storm Atlas was cute.
Everyone likes a little snow in December
to get into the holiday spirit.
Storm Cleon had everyone singing
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"
We were now measuring in feet rather than inches.
Kronos visited us right after the Super Bowl.
But it was Storm Lem
who on Feb 5, pounded us with an ice storm
that made anyone with a generator, our best friend.
Maximus lived up to its name by dumping 12 inches of snow in our lap
just before Valentines Day.
And Nika decided that we needed a little more ice to go with our Valentine drinks on Feb 14.
Eight more storms followed bringing us to mid-March,
the time when our hearts beat a bit more quickly at the thought of spring.
By then, my snow blower was crying uncle,
and I had surrendered my last precious handfuls of ice melt.
My property looked like a tornado had ravaged it,
with multiple trees and branches having met their Maker.
I myself, had met Jesus several times on my steep driveway
while snowblowing, tossing ice melt,
or my personal favorite......
chainsawing downed trees on an ice packed 35 degree incline.
We finally caught a break with 4-5 days of temperatures ABOVE freezing,
causing some of us to see Mother Earth for the first time in months.
It was while dragging my 34th large branch to the brush pile that I saw it,
there in the midst of my flowerbed.....
something green coming through the ground.
It had been months since I had seen something green other than fallen evergreens.
I stared with fascination.
What could this be?
I gasped as I considered the unthinkable.
Could this be......
could this possibly be......
no it couldn't be.......
some sign of spring????
As I drug branch number 34 to its fiery burnpile,
my heart lept with joy,
and I walked with a little more bounce in my step.
Spring was coming
and Old Man Winter was powerless to stop it.
St Patrick's Day was soon upon us and I broke into an Irish jig.
But Ireland is most famous for potato famines and building the Titanic.
My merry jig came to a tragic halt
as I looked more closely at this green shoot of hope.
This was no declaration of resurrection.
It was a piece of plastic greenery that had been on my outdoor Christmas wreath
and was now imbedded in the ground.
Winter was mocking me once again.
There are times when we feel the enemy is mocking us.
Most likely, he is,
planting seeds of doubt about ourselves,
telling us that we can't possibly be more than lost orphaned children,
telling us that life beyond the grave with a loving Father is merely wishful thinking.
Most of us go through seasons when the cold and darkness seem like it just won't go away.
There is more despair than hope,
more discouragement than encouragement,
more pain than joy.
If you are in a winter of your own discontent,
tell the deceiver to leave.
Tell him there is nothing he can do to stop healing from overcoming disease,
there is nothing he can do to stop dancing from replacing mourning,
there is nothing he can do to keep the stone in front of the tomb.
There is nothing he can do to pull the plug on your Spring
NOTHING
Then walk away from him
and declare that even though it is Saturday in your life,
you know Sunday is coming,
even if you can't see it or feel it,
and walk to Jesus
and let Him carry you to the Spring that you can not see or feel.
Forcast for St Patrick's Day?
3-4 inches of snow.
That's okay.
Oh, I believe I will see some green,
It's called a Shamrock Shake.
Now that is seeing through eyes of faith.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
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