As the Family Goes

JP II Quote

"As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live." John Paul II

Friday, March 23, 2012

Springtime

As I was cleaning the house a few days ago, I had a bit of a moment.  We are experiencing record-breaking temperatures this week, and the kids (and I) are loving every minute of it.  The first few nice days after winter are always a glorious time, when the yard (and the kids) are full of mud, and you're just so darn happy it's nice enough to go outside you don't even care about the extra mess it makes.

And so it was that I was vacuuming the upstairs, which is part of my daily routine.  On this lovely springy day, and as the kids had just trampled through the upstairs with their muddy boots, the mess was threefold what it would normally be.  And I was joyful it the midst of it all - why?  Because the sun was streaming through the windows, the air was whistling through the screens, and the advent of spring was lifting my soul.

We are also in the season of Lent, which for me has been a particularly difficult one.  I have been struggling with things I thought were long past, feeling like I had taken big steps backwards, and just generally feeling like I was doing a poor job of making any kind of spiritual progress in this season the Church sets aside for just that.  Cleaning this mess in my house, I couldn't help but parallel it with my own life and all the ways I have been feeling like maybe I've allowed things to clutter up there as well.  And the beauty of the message of spring flooded my being - that the Lord shines light into the darkness, breathes new life, and makes you see the mess in a whole new way.  He allows you to be joyful in doing the work you need to do to get it all cleaned up.

With Lent more that half over, I am grateful for this beautiful weather and the new perspective God has given me on my sin.  I pray that for everyone (myself included) the rest of this beautiful season will be a time of hope, of conquering, and of joyfully doing the work that needs to be done - illuminated as always by the light of Christ, who is always busting in through the windows of our hearts and begging us to let Him in.  Welcome, spring!

Katie, ready to enjoy a beautiful spring day!

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