BY GREG MILLER
January turned his pages and became a shorter 28-day version of himself named February.
The cold, windy, frigid, frosty days of winter morphed into March, when spring arrives, bringing resurrected life and new beginnings. Slowly but surely, the days of March disappeared into time’s mysterious, yet understandable, pages of history.
With each passing day, Winter, although he refused to relax his hold on the inevitable, finally relented and opened his clenched, defiant fist, releasing the first day of Spring. Spring, opened herself up like a rare, fragrant blossom of rarest beauty, exploding onto the horizon with rarely seen resurrection power and bountiful wisdom.
Amy had been waiting for warmer weather to return ever since it disappeared the previous October. “I’m a warm weather kind of girl,” she told Audra, her best friend. “Cold weather just isn’t for me.”
“I’m flexible,” said Audra. “On a day when the temperatures are bone chilling, the snow is blowing itself into a blizzard, I’m at one with nature. And I enjoy it.
“And when it’s hot enough outside to fry an egg on the sidewalk, I apply some suntan lotion and go for a long walk. It’s great. And I enjoy it.”
“What’s your secret?” asked Amy.
“My secret is something I learned many years ago. It’s found in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, chapter eight, verse 10. Here’s what it says, ‘Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
“The last phrase of the verse, ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength,’ has stuck with me all these years. I think about that statement every day, and it brings strength, hope and joy to me.”
“Don’t you ever get depressed?” asked Amy.
“Oh, sure, occasionally,” said Audra. “Then I think of Jesus, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, crucifixion and death on Calvary’s cruel cross, burial in a borrowed tomb, resurrection on the third day, His ascension back to the Father in heaven and His soon return to earth. When I think of Jesus, and everything He did for me, the joy of the Lord just sweeps over my soul like a whirlwind, and I feel His strength empowering me to live my best life for Him!”
“I’m going to try this joy thing,” Amy smiled. “It seems like Jesus did all the work, and we get all the blessings.”
“That’s the truth,” said Audra. “The whole truth indeed!”
(To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements (in the U.S.A.), including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please type “Speaking Engagements” in the subject line and e-mail raysofson@gmail.com kidcool4jesus@yahoo.comor ministry4jesus@yahoo.com.)