Sunday Read: Marching Into Spring - Hope After Winter
March gets its name from Mars, the Roman god of war, because it marked the beginning of the military campaign season. After winter made warfare impractical, March's warmer weather allowed armies to march again. The Romans also celebrated March 1 as New Year's Day until 153 BC, making it a time of fresh starts and renewed activity after winter's dormancy.
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, March represents the transition from winter to spring. Days lengthen noticeably. Snow melts. Trees begin budding. Even the air smells different - less of death and dormancy, more of awakening and growth. The Spring Equinox arrives around March 20, when day and night reach equal length before light begins winning the daily battle against darkness.
This seasonal shift matters spiritually because we're embodied creatures affected by our environment. After months of cold, darkness, and dead landscapes, spring's arrival brings tangible hope. Creation itself testifies to resurrection - what looked dead wasn't finished, just dormant. What seemed ended was merely resting. Winter doesn't last forever, no matter how permanent it feels in February.
Scripture uses seasonal imagery constantly. "For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come" (Song of Solomon 2:11-12). "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). Nature's rhythms teach spiritual truth - death gives way to life, darkness yields to light, winter transitions to spring.
You're starting March still in Lent's forty-day journey toward Easter. February may have felt like wilderness wandering, but March carries you closer to resurrection Sunday. The calendar itself is working in your favor - longer days, warmer weather, visible signs that winter doesn't win. Even if your Lenten disciplines have faltered, you're still moving toward Easter whether you feel it or not.
What winter have you been enduring? What part of your life has felt dormant, frozen, dead? March invites you to watch for signs of thaw, hints of resurrection, evidence that God is still working even in what looks lifeless. Spring doesn't arrive because you earned it or deserved it. It comes because God built cycles of death and resurrection into creation itself, constant reminders that endings aren't final and winter isn't forever.
