24 March 2011

Trust not this month

The Sicilians have a proverb that says, "God save us from the end of March and the beginning of April." They also say, "There's no plan that can handle the vagaries of March."

Each year I am amazed at people's surprise when the weather takes a drastic turn sometime in March. This month is traitorous; it happens every year. The temperatures warm nicely, deceiving us to think that winter is ended. Then, when most people think winter gone, it returns in the blink of an eye. March cannot be trusted.

When I left Effingham yesterday afternoon it was 75 degrees; when I woke in Springfield this morning it was 31 degrees. The change in temperature has taken a toll on my system, leaving me exhausted, and I just want to go back to bed (which I just may do for a bit).

There is, I think, a lesson in this change of weather, from warm and bright to cold and drear.

We find ourselves now in the days of Lent, a time meant to be a springtime of life for the soul, of growth in faith, hope and love. As we grow in these virtues we experience a sort of warming in the soul; when we fall away from these virtues we experience a sort of cooling in the soul.

The month of March is a good reminder for us to always strive to grow in Jesus Christ that our souls may have never a winter, but always a spring.

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