As we approach the beginning of spring, I always have a growing sense of anticipation. When the bulbs begin to bust out and the trees begin to bud, I know that great things are coming. Soon we will have rhododendrons and azaleas trumpeting their vibrant colors in all their glory. The daffodils are already telling me to perk up! The longer daylight in the evening calls us to linger awhile and enjoy a shimmering sunset. What a glorious time of the year this is.

But, in some ways, I am sad to leave winter behind. For one thing, I wish we had received more snowfall — I sure appreciate how a good blanket of snow can cover over a multitude of problems and even some ugliness in the yard. Waking up to a fresh snowfall always gives me a sense of innocence and newness — a do-over in a way. Oh, if only my life’s warts and snags could be so nicely smoothed over or covered.

However, spring too can bring with it this sense of the old being gone and finished, as we turn to think about new beginnings and new life. Spring has a wonderful way of giving us a fresh start. Springtime is such a time of renewal — a time to clear out the old and begin anew.

In many ways, this is what God wants for each and every one of us. God’s great gift of love in Jesus Christ allows us the beauty of new beginnings. We are not stuck in our past, but in God’s grace we can know a fresh start when we need one, and for me that’s every day! In the Bible, Second Corinthians 5:17-21 teaches us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I know that I need do-overs on a regular basis and maybe you find that you do too. How wonderful it is to live with that possibility because of Jesus Christ. No matter what our past has been, no matter how hard or bad or ugly, the lord can bring us a new beginning — a springtime fresh start — whenever we need it. All we have to do is ask.

Thank God for new beginnings and new life.