All In A Days Grace

  Two years ago, my husband planted tulip bulbs in the front yard. When the season came that they should bloom, nothing happened. There wasn’t even a tiny hint of green anywhere. We watered, there was plenty of sun and the soil was right. Nothing. The next Spring came and we wondered if we would see anything. We watered, there was plenty of sun and the soil again was right, but nothing. We lost hope that we would ever see these bulbs bloom and so they were no longer on our mind. The other day my husband came in the door with a big smile and proclaimed, “My tulips are coming up!” We went out together to take a look and sure enough the thin green leaves had pushed through the dirt! Six had been planted but at this point only two poked through. A few days later two more. By the weekend all six were making their way through the soil into the sunlight. We assumed they were never going to bloom. We gave up on the hope of a tulip garden. Don’t we do this with our lives at times...

  On the counter, in my office, sits an unusual item; a rams horn. Another word for this peculiar item is a shofar. It might seem a strange item for a Christian pastor to have, because its use is deeply steeped in the Jewish faith. The shofar held many purposes in the Jewish faith. It was used to intimidate the enemy, to declare war, and to call people to worship. It is one of the oldest wind instruments in the world made from a ram’s horn. Jewish tradition links the ram's horn to the ram caught in the thicket and then sacrificed by Abraham in place of his son, Isaac in Genesis 22. It’s an incredible story of faithfulness to God. (If you haven't read it check it out!) If we read Joshua 6, we see that the army of Israel marched around Jericho to the signal of the shofar causing the walls of Jericho to fall! In Matthew 24:31 Jesus described a coming day of judgment that will be announced by the blowing of the shofar. In biblical times, the shofar announced the beginning...

  Every time I go into a store this time of year, I’m taken aback by all the bunnies and eggs. Just the other day as I entered a popular home décor store, I think I let out an audible “sigh” as my eyes were overwhelmed with what felt like an army of rabbits with eggs in wheelbarrows surrounding me. Now I have to confess that I have pictures from my childhood capturing me sitting on the lap of the Easter bunny. (I could never understand why he wore sneakers) Every year I would have the adults sweating it out as they tried to explain this strange phenomenon to me. (I was a curious child) I too went on Easter egg hunts each Easter morning as a child and opened up a big basket with, of course, a chocolate Easter bunny and lots of jelly beans, before heading to Easter service. I then introduced this annual egg hunt and Easter basket tradition to my children. So, it’s not that I sigh with a heart of self-righteous distain when I see all the bunnies and eggs out on display each Sp...