Of Times and Seasons
For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
–Song of Solomon, 2:11-12
So much has changed. For me, the boundaries between home and work have disappeared. A temporary computer command post has been set up on our dining room table, and I am now on-call so long as people are working at the plant. There is no going to work and coming home, no start time, and quitting time. The days are running together. As I try to think back through the weeks since we have been dealing with the COVID-19 virus, it all just sort of runs together into a blurry mess. The markers
within and between my days are mostly gone.

Yesterday, while returning from a short business-related drive, I noticed a line of brilliantly blooming dogwoods planted along a back road. As I slowed down looked about, I realized that all the trees around are in bud and bloom. There are cherry blossoms, magnolias, and dogwoods. Daffodils, forsythia, dandelions, and phlox are in full bloom. All the budding trees are creating a pastel haze on the horizon. I may not have been paying much attention, but Spring has arrived in Michigan anyway.

While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.
–Genesis 8:22

God has established the times and the seasons and promised us that they shall not cease. The divisions and boundaries now missing from my life are the divisions of the world’s business. I mourn their loss and wonder if they will return. Whether they do or not, God’s times and seasons faithfully remain.

It is springtime in Michigan. The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land!

Pete Celano – Campus Shepherd