Epistle / Based on Psalm 19:1-6 / Emailed to Hudson UMC on March 1, 2021

 

Hello Church family! Darci here.

I am writing this DCE for the first day of March. Our weather has started to warm, and I am hearing the chickadee sing their love songs. I have a few seeds started in trays under lights in the basement for the summer garden season. In the dead of winter, I long for time to move more quickly, but soon winter will be a memory. Our Psalm this week echoes the movement of the days.

Psalm 19:1-6
For the music leader. A psalm of David.

1 Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
2 One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
3 Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
4 but their sound extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.
God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
5 The sun is like a groom
coming out of his honeymoon suite;
like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
6 It rises in one end of the sky;
its circuit is complete at the other.
Nothing escapes its heat.


I realize some people love winter. I am not a fan of the cold. When I was younger, I did downhill ski and ice skate, but now I view winter most happily through my windows in my warm home. There is beauty in snow and ice, but my gardener’s heart is looking forward to that date our final frost is past.

These warmer days are welcome. The daylight time is increasing, and the sun is slowly rising higher in the sky. I like thinking the sun is thrilled at running its course across my sky. The news I imagine the day “gushing” is that spring is coming soon. That is news that needs to be celebrated.

There may be no speech but obviously the birds are hearing the news. They know to begin flying north and begin their mating calls. The trees will begin to bud with the lighter and warmer days. My seedlings in the basement will pop up in their artificial spring conditions and get their roots established. Damp soil, warming mats, and artificial lights create spring a little earlier for them.

This psalm makes me pause. It reminds me I do not want to rush through any days – even the cold ones. Life is precious and each day God’s glory is seen in our world. We need to listen as the sky proclaims God’s handiwork.

Lent is a time to pause and reflect. It is needed to prepare our heart for the events of holy week. This sacred time does not come with shouts, well except for Palm Sunday, yet our soul knows what is coming. Thoughts of sacrifice and pain, and thoughts of victory and joy. We will live it all day by day as each night informs the next what needs to be known.

I pray you can find time to pause. Be grateful for these days to prepare for the time ahead. Do not wish the days to fly by. Instead, think about each one whispering its secrets to the next day dawning. Every day has a story to tell. Listen.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sharing your glory through the natural world. Help us to thrill with each new day. May this time of preparation make our hearts ready to respond as witnesses of your work in the world. We feel the hope of a world reborn through the warmth of your love. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.