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Springtime in Spokane amazes me! After a cold and snowy winter, I cannot seem to take in enough of the pink dogwood and cherry blossom sights and fragrances, the perfumed lilacs, multi-colored tulips, bird songs, flowering scents, or the rushing Spokane River. As I walked to my daughter’s house on Wednesday morning, the songbirds sang louder than ever. Purple crocuses and tulips peeked out of their winter tombs, and swollen tree buds prepared to burst!

I painted Reflections of Spokane in winter as I anticipated the coming of spring. It is one of three panels that sweep from spring to summer through autumn and snowy winter. This painting is the first panel and my favorite. Painting is hard work for me as my hands continue to tremor, but the more challenging the battle, the sweeter the victory!

We appreciate spring so much more because we waited many long months for it to come. We as believers also wait for another kind of spring to arrive—the promised return of our Lord Jesus Christ after a long and dark “winter” in this earth place. The Bride of Christ is more than ready to see the face of her long-awaited Sacred Lover, who writes to her:

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me. My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely (Sng 2:10-15 NIV).

The Message Bible says it like this:

Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world’s a choir—and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet strains. Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Oh, get up, dear friend, my fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Come, my shy and modest dove—leave your seclusion, come out in the open. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing (Sng 2:10-14 Message).

Today is another beautiful spring day here in Spokane. Yesterday I pulled all the dead plant leaves and grass out of my flower beds to make room for my tulip and perennial sprouts. Backbreaking, to be sure, but a spiritual reminder to get rid of past debris to make room for the beauty of what lies ahead. 

Yesterday morning I thought deeply on Philippians 3:10-14. Paul says he considers everything a loss compared with the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, his Lord. What he used to see as religious gain, he now calls garbage. He only wants to press on to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering. He then says, “but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14).

I wondered about the “high calling of God.” What is that supposed to look like in my daily life? The preceding verses talk about knowing the Lord Jesus Christ for whose sake Paul lost all things. Paul’s deepest desire was to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. The lights came on as I realized that seeking to know Jesus is the point, the goal, the high calling. To focus on a close relationship with Him brings daily inner renewal.

Can we live with that focus? Can we forget what lies behind us, the past mistakes, failures, sins—throw it all into the compost pile for redemption and seek to walk in constant communion with our Savior? Will we choose to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and run with perseverance the race He marked out for us? Will we fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith? Surely, knowing He endured the cross for the joy of a relationship with us woos us to know and love Him (see Heb 12:1-2).

As we watch spring come into full bloom, may it draw us into a deeper relationship with the One who calls us to come away from the deadness of the past. May we walk with Him into the new life of victory He offers to each of us every day.