It's Spring!  Although in many parts of the world, notably the Arctic, it seems as though Spring is far, far away, from an astronomical standpoint, Spring is here.  I hope you find time to rejoice, perhaps listen to "Spring" in Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," maybe take time to reflect on the winter that is drawing to a close, maybe even consider what you will do with the new season that sits before you.

     In his Anna Karenin, Leo Tolstoy beautifully describes this spring as a time when, “the ice on the river began to crack and slide away, and the turbid, frothing torrents flowed more swiftly . . . the sun rose brilliant . . . and the warm air all around vibrated with the vapor given off by the awakening earth.”

     And in the "Song of Songs" in the Hebrew Bible, we read the words of the writer to his "beloved," "For behold, the winter is past, the rain 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."

     Need we say anything more?  Spring is a time to feel loved, loved by the earth, loved by the cosmos and, most important, loved by God.