A Moment with your Mission Centre President Team

Written by Shannon McAdam
Canada West Mission Centre Co-President

A Change in Seasons
 
I know it may not feel like it everywhere in Western Canada yet, but this past weekend I decided spring is definitely here! I was out for a walk without a jacket and enjoyed the feeling of sun on my face. Looking out at my patio I see bulbs coming up and leaves coming out on my little willow tree. And at work a client reminded me that our Iranian or Persian friends celebrate Nowruz this week – their new year festival that falls on the spring equinox.
 
This year Easter feels like it is arriving at just the right time as “Now the green blade rises” seems to be happening right outside my window!
 
This Lent I have spent time journeying with some church companions and exploring Psalms of lament. What has struck me most is the way the Psalmist writes of both sorrow and joy, right next to each other, in all of these beautiful poems. It has been beautiful to see how similar our human struggles of today are with those of the ancient writer. They write of the difficulty of finding connection and community and long for God’s presence.
 
And while I’ve enjoyed this journey into the depths with these Psalms, they’ve made me very excited for Holy Week and Easter. The breadth of experience from sorrow to joy are all encapsuled in this week that is so central to the Christian story. And just as the bulbs in the cold ground that have been asleep are waking up, so too do we awaken to Christ’s living presence.
 
As the words of hymn 482 share:
When our hearts are wint’ry, grieving, or in pain,
your touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been;
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
 
May your wintry heart find its awakening in the coming week as you gather in community. Even if you cannot see the green blades yet, I assure you, they will arise again.