Hosanna

Earlier this week, I read on Jonas Borntreger (Aroea's dad)'s blog this beautiful little nugget about the coming of spring. I don't think he'd mind me reproducing it here:

It’s March the ninth, 2008; it’s East Central Iowa, and lying awake in bed this morning I heard the unmistakable signal of spring. Never mind that we’ve had a very hard winter with more than five feet of snow. Never mind that the temperature yesterday morning was down close to zero and most of our yard is still covered with eight plus inches of snow/ice. The Robin is back! The Robin’s prophetic voice pierced the darkness this morning and announced the end of doom and gloom: “Joy comes in the morning.”

I wonder every spring what the poor thing will eat; how he will stay warm; how he will survive until the nightcrawlers are washed to the surface by spring rains. It always seems he might have a forty-day fast until it happens. But then, that’s the way it often is for God’s prophets. They always come too early and with (what seems like,) too little provision.

I've never before thought of the robin as a prophet, but find it is a beautiful notion. Joy comes in the morning. That sense of renewal comes every spring, and, more to the point, every Easter.

Today was a splendid day. I woke up on time, feeling renewed and energized and ready to take on the world. I don't often feel this way in the morning. I have a feeling that God was singing over me as I slept last night. That's the only explanation. On my drive into work, I listened to one of my favorite albums, Love and Thunder (by Andrew Peterson). It's a soft, deep little album that always reminds me of the start of spring. And since the weather has been refreshingly spring-like this week, it was time to pull it off the shelf and usher in the changing season.

One of the most powerful tracks on the album is "High Noon". It's pretty much the story of the Resurrection and all of the boundless promise that word holds. The thunderous refrain of the song began just as I turned onto I-480. The bright pink sun was rising over the Qwest Center and the whole moment just filled me with an indescribable sense of awe. It was a lovely way to start the day.

And it just got better from there. My work day was good, I had a good lunch with Annie, and Aleeta called me in the middle of the day, just to tell me that she loves me. I have been feeling so abundantly blessed by my friends as of late. Beth and Charlotte are like my sisters. Tauna is my person. Ann is so supportive. Naldo is so protective of all of us. Lisa made me laugh out loud this afternoon with just a simple message on Facebook. I am blessed.

So, my day was unusually wonderful anyway, but it only got better as it drew to a close. Beth, Matt, the Van Schoonevelds and I went out to Elkhorn to yet another Andrew Peterson concert (he comes here a lot, as you now know). He had the whole gang with him once again- Andy Gullahorn, Jill Phillips, Ben Shive. And tonight they told the story of the Resurrection. It was an evening of hymns woven with readings about Holy Week, woven with original songs that celebrate Easter. The songs humbled me (I am such a sinful wreck) and challenged me and encouraged me (there is freedom). The closing number was, appropriately, "High Noon", and I ended my day much like I started it- in awe of the Story God is still telling, even today:

Let the people rejoice

Let the heavens resound

Let the name of Jesus, who sought us

And freed us forever ring out

All praise to the fighter of the night

Who rides on the light

Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky

High noon in the valley of the shadow

When the shadows were shot through with light

When the mouth of the tomb

Shouted, "Glory, the Groom is alive"

Be gone, you wages of sin

Go on, don't you come back again

I've been raised and redeemed

All praise to the king

The victor of the battle

High noon in the valley

In the valley of the shadow