By Heather Melton, UTO Staff Officer

Last weekend I was driving with my kids through the part of town along the Rio Grande River. This area of town is lower in elevation than where we live and more protected from the winds that blow along the mesa, which means that spring comes to this part of town about a week earlier. We were chatting away when I noticed a tree filled with white blossoms. I told the girls to look and surprised them because it was totally out of context. When they looked out the window, they shouted, “SPRING!” I love living in a place that has seasons, but there are two seasons I watch for because they are my absolute favorites—spring and fall. The unfolding of spring and fall are a bit like scavenger hunts. In spring, you may see a crocus, then notice that the ends of branches on trees are turning green, before noticing that daffodils and hyacinth are blooming. Each small noticing becomes the full unfolding of spring. I love watching it happen, and I love that my kids enjoy looking for signs of spring when we’re driving across town, as each area unfolds a little differently. Every sign of spring is a call to rejoice.

Rejoicing is a way to give thanks. In I Thessalonians (5:16-18) it says: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I love this small bit of Scripture that outlines how to live a life of faith to members of the early church. I love it because it is simple, and it is so very challenging. We live in a moment where praying without ceasing feels like the easier charge. We don’t have to look far to find things that bring us to prayer, seeking God’s help. Giving thanks in all circumstances feels like staying present and grounded (not an invitation to overlook the hard things but to give thanks for those present with you in them, for example). Rejoicing or being joyful feels hard, but that’s part of the work we’re called to do. When I think about rejoicing as a way to give thanks, it gets easier, because rejoicing looks like delight at the signs of spring, or that moment in the morning when I notice that I made my cup of tea perfectly and giving thanks for it. Rejoicing doesn’t have to look like shouting from the mountaintops about the good things happening to you, it can simply be that brief moment of noticing and being present to something that brings us joy. 

Later this month, we’ll celebrate Easter. Easter is an opportunity to rejoice, pray, and give thanks for the resurrection. It’s important to remember that Easter is not only the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is also the celebration that God is fully invested in the work of resurrection: God is always making all things new. The hard things will be transformed; we will be made new as we grow and move through them. Easter is also a season, and not just one day, because resurrection takes time. New life often shows up like those first signs of spring—small at first and then everywhere. New life takes some work; we have to be willing to be present, to engage with the world around us, and to live into the new thing we’re called to be, to rejoice, pray and give thanks. I hope that this April, you’ll find new life in your own ways, that you’ll encounter big and small things to rejoice over, that your prayer life will be filled with the honest requests of your heart, and that each day you’ll find things to give thanks for in the world around you.