In many parts of the world, this week marked the beginning of Daylight Savings Time.  Historically instituted for the benefit of farmers and others who made their living by the light of the sun, today Daylight Savings Time functions more as a boon to commuters worldwide, enabling them to enjoy more of the day, primarily after working hours.
     Although it is still early March and much of the West still lies in the throes of winter, Daylight Savings Time is a signal, a sign.  It is an indication that spring will really come, that the vernal and verdant will really soon reign.  As God promised Noah after the flood, as long as the earth stands, so the seasons will come.  Winter may be difficult at times, but it is not forever; summer may be overpoweringly hot, but autumn will come.  Nothing stands still, nothing remains unchanged.  Life is bigger than its parts.
     As Tolstoy writes in his masterpiece War and Peace, when the light rises and the grass greens, when the flowers bloom and the birds sing, when the land awakens to its destiny, spring has come.
     So does the psalmist write of God, "You open your hand and care for every living thing."  Even us.  We live in the heart of divine promise.