The long dark days of waiting, a miracle has happened. Yet again, perseverance has been rewarded; what has been hidden is now visible; our earlier attention to the invisible is being paid back with colourful surprises, one day after the other. It’s brighter and lighter in the garden these days, with brighter mornings, longer evenings, cherry blossoms, birds in the trees, life budding into being – and it’s lighter too in our hearts.
For the gardener, practical work begins in earnest now. Shovels, rakes and hoes are taken out of storage. The soil needs to be broken, aired and turned, tested for texture and food content. Plants that appear partly out of the ground need to be firmed back into place, while seedlings need to be planted outdoors in the places where they are to bloom.
March and April bring the season of Easter, with its time of waiting between Calvary and resurrection, between death and new lift. The gift to pray for at this time of year is hope. We hope – we know – that they dawn of the year will come, with brighter days, fresh growth and colour in the garden. And yet hope is beyond what we imagine, because although spring always comes, it is always different.