“I am the unopened bud, and I the blossom,
I am the lifeforce gathering to a crest,
I am the still companion of the silence,
I am the farflung seeker of the quest,
I am the daughter gathering wisdom,
I am the son whose questions never cease,
I am the dawn-light searching out glad justice,
I am the center where all souls find peace."
~     Caitlin Matthews, Celtic Devotional

This past Saturday
could be described as nothing short of glorious. Here in the Twin Cities the
temperature reached 45 degrees. After weeks of never going above freezing, this
break in the weather seemed absolutely a miracle. People headed outside in
droves. We happened to be among them walking through the Como Zoo. Children,
still dressed seasonally in snowsuits, were red-cheeked having thrown off
their hats and mittens, as their sweaty hair stuck up in wild directions.
Adults, so accustomed to layering on garments, were carrying fleeces and
jackets rolled up under ever-visible arms.

But
aside from their outerwear, it was the look on their faces that was the true
glory. Smiles all around as people once again looked one another in the eyes,
nodding, grinning from ear to ear, no longer hunkered down amid down and wool.
The looks seemed to say:"There is life teeming here, even under dirty snow
and cars caked with salty residue. There is life here!"

It
all seemed to fit the ancient Celtic calendar where spring begins on February
1st. Spring hinted its entrance to us on Saturday, planting hope and promise in
our minds, causing us to release muscles tensed by brutal temperatures and darkness. As
people who knew well the gifts of the seasons, the Celts created celebrations
to mark the thresholds that lead us from winter to spring, from spring to
summer, from summer to autumn. from autumn to winter. They also recognized the
wisdom of each season and how those relate to the seasons of our lives. It is
wise living to see our passages of time in this way. It helps keep us connected
with both Creation and Creator.

We
know that the thaw of these last couple of days will not last. There are still
frigid temperatures to endure. But the glorious gift of Saturday is that it
helped us remember that beneath the frozen ground, life is beginning to wake
up, bulbs are reaching toward the sun, grass is remembering itself. In the
limbs and trunks of trees, the motion of growth is moving upward toward leaves
that are yet to be.

And
we human ones, we are mining the gifts of this winter to bring to birth what
this new year, this spring, this season will hold for us. It is yet unknown, a
gift, a glorious gift, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be lived.