Definite signs of spring now. The spring flowers are up and showing. Spring is such a lovely time of year in the garden with the aconites, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, crocuses and all the other flowers and shrubs that remind us that we have turned the corner away from winter. As I write this, I am not sure that my hedgehogs have woken up but by the time you read this I am sure that they will have. They will have made their beds packed their bags and be off to new adventures. That is what spring is all about really, new beginnings. I have just come back from a graduation ceremony, and it seems appropriate that it was held in the springtime as the graduates are all now embarking on a new beginning in their working or academic lives. New beginnings can be a bit scary as some of the young people will be feeling but mostly, they are filled with excitement and anticipation. The Bible has a lot to say about new beginnings. More than a few parables cover this theme. I love parables. They are short stories that tell us something in a gentle way and yet each time we hear the story again or reread it we pick up some extra insight. One of my favourite parables and one that relates to new beginnings is the parable of the lost son. There are two sons in a family, and one persuades his father to give him his share of his future inheritance. In the way of young men, he left his father’s business and frittered it all away with no thoughts to how he was going to live in the future. After a fairly traumatic few years he was at rock bottom and decided to return home to try and sort things out. On his return his father was delighted and immediately welcomed him home with open arms and offered him a new start. The other son was not so happy but that is a story for another day. It seems to me to offer forgiveness to someone who has not treated us well is the ultimate gift of a new beginning.
I wish you all lots of exciting new beginnings this year.
God Bless
Maureen Kendall