What Spring Knows: On Change, Courage, and Cultivating the Future

As the year began and the new realities of our world’s landscape began to come into focus, the frigid temperatures, short days, and long nights of winter felt like a fitting backdrop to what was happening in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. It felt cold, lifeless, and chilling. We had the promise that life was there somewhere under all of that solemnity and yet it felt far off and no one could blame you if you had your doubts about the seasons turning…
…but spring is relentless. 

Even as the horrors continue to unfold, and in some cases multiply, there is no denying the truth that a new season is upon us. On mornings when it would be easy to despair, our eyes are drawn to the daffodils and crocuses springing up in our yards. There are more and more hours of sunlight available to us when we clock out of work, reminding us that light is beginning to turn the tide. And depending on where you live, maybe it’s not exactly warm yet, but those few moments where you can sneak outside without a jacket feel like freedom! Even the rain feels like a life-affirming alternative to the snow. 
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Spring is here.

No, spring doesn’t make everything better. It doesn’t undo the trauma and fear of the last few months nor does it preclude the inevitable pains that are still on the horizon. But there is a promise that comes along with the shifting of the seasons. The promise is that not only is change possible, change is inevitable. 

But there is a promise that comes along with the shifting of the seasons. The promise is that not only is change possible, change is inevitable. ​

What’s not inevitable is whether change will be for better or for worse. That’s why even as we pray and hope, we also speak out and work. Like the flowers that will bloom this season, the change that will come will be based on the seeds that we plant. It’s not enough to say that what we have now is cruel and unjust, though it is in many ways. We must also start to give shape to the world as we imagine it to be. 

Spring is a time for imagination! 

Every year at this time, I look over my garden and I see the first signs of perennials that I have planted in previous years beginning to wake up. Beyond that, I see a blank canvas of soil and I dream. I dream of lettuce and kale and other leafy greens, I dream of bright sunflowers and marigolds. I dream of tomatoes and peppers. In my dream there are no weeds! I dream of all of the life that could come from my garden, but I’d be a pretty terrible gardener if I left it to dreaming. Seeds need to be planted, soil needs to be turned, and yes, weeds need to be pulled. 

Spring is for action! 

Paul told the Corinthians “if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” A new creation doesn’t magically appear as much as we’d like for it to. Being “in Christ” means walking the road He walked, a road of compassion, forgiveness, and sacrifice. It means naming evil for what it is and offering an alternative way of being. As Lent comes to a close and Easter comes into focus, we’re reminded of what it might cost us to declare that the old things are “dead” and lead to more death. But spring is the time when we clear away what has died to make room for what will come. 

Spring is relentless. It comes even when it feels the winter inside of us will be eternal. ​

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Spring is relentless. It comes even when it feels the winter inside of us will be eternal. "​

It comes despite our exhaustion, our outrage, our cynicism, and our hopelessness. It comes declaring that it’s time for new life, whether we’re ready for it or not. And it invites us to be a part of the rebirth.

May we people who answer the call of spring for the sake of God’s people and God’s Creation. 

Derrick Weston
Director of Theological Education and Formation 
Creation Justice Ministries