-- —
Spring returns Wednesday, March 20, a strange return given it seems that spring has came and went several times through the past winter months.
Yet, spring is more than higher temperatures and beautiful blooms. There are lessons to learn from this season. There is hope in this season of renewal.
To partially quote a Willie Nelson song, “at a time when the world seems to be spinning hopelessly out of control,” spring reminds us of the message from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Yes, there are rainy days. There are bad times. There are Shakespeare’s winters of our discontent.
At times, it may seem that we have entered an everlasting dark period with on-going wars, violence, bitter politics and a staggering economy. Still, given enough time, this dark period, too, shall pass. It will pass all the sooner, all the better, as long as we do not lose hope. As long as we remember, to every thing there is a season. And this season of calamity shall also pass unto a season of renewal.
Each of us faces such seasons within our personal lives. Each person endures the loss of loved ones, the shattering of relationships, the loss of a job, illnesses, all sorts of untold hardships and disappointments. Despair and despondency taunt each of us on some level, at some time, in our lives.
And yet, even in those bleakest moments, we find solace in the prospect of the healing hands of time. We find hope that to every thing, there is a season. Like spring, we cling to the belief that things will improve.
We must strive to make things better. We must couple hope with determination. We must sow our time with faith to see us through. We must sow our fields with the sweat of our perseverance, the reckoning of our ingenuity, the iron of our commitment.
We must not give into despair. We must not surrender to the winter. We must believe in the possibility of renewal. We must keep our eyes open, our minds alert, our spirits at the ready.
Renewal will come, and we must be prepared to seize the opportunities of a new day, the prospects of a coming spring.
What We Think
Seeking spring
- What We Think
-
-
Historic day celebrated
On January 1, 1863, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious areas are and henceforth shall be free.
-
How this garden grew
A special-needs couple wanted a garden. A teacher not only wanted to teach gardening skills but she also wanted to instill a sense of community purpose within her young students.
-
Happy Father’s Day
He beamed with pride on our birth. He understood worry upon our birth. He is the giant by which we would judge all men. He protected us. He provided for us. He often sacrificed time with us to provide for us. He spent time with us.
-
Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To Stevie Young of Valdosta. The owner of Artistic Taxidermy, Young won Best in the World, Turkey, in the 2013 World Taxidermy Championship. His eastern wild turkey display dominated the competition, earning him the distinction of best in the world. Another title for TitleTown!
-
Canning preserves food, way of life
When the going gets tough, the tough getting canning. Valdosta-Lowndes County residents have this opportunity.
-
PSST!: Round Two!
With tonight’s opening of “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” Peach State Summer Theatre presents its second show of the 2013 season.
-
A responsible fix for pets
The photo and story in Sunday’s paper about the dog whose owners had left him tied up with an electrical cord elicited a tremendous response from readers, outraged at the dog’s treatment.
-
A band-aid in a crisis?
The announcement Monday by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities that a crisis stabilization center will be built in Lowndes County is good news for some, not so great for others.
-
Slowing down for summer
Twenty-some years ago, it seemed Valdosta and South Georgia slowed down for the summer. School was out. Controversies seemed to dwindle. People seemed to work shorter hours despite the longer days.
-
Storms: Of preparation and prayer
If you haven’t already, maybe this morning in church would be a good time to say a prayer of thanks that Tropical Storm Andrea blessed us with some much-needed rain while sparing us the overwhelming catastrophe that weather has wreaked upon the Midwest in recent weeks.
- More What We Think Headlines
-
Historic day celebrated
