Well, it’s spring, sort of.

I went outside into our backyard to check the trees, perennials, and shrubs for signs of new growth. The daffodils have begun to emerge. I saw a line of crocus with bright yellow flowers, along the side of the house. For the most part, however, plants are staying safely below the soil covering.

I checked the weather forecast for this week. Generally, temperatures will be in the mid-thirties with freezing temperatures at night. It’s more like winter than spring out there.

Last week was certainly bad enough with wind and rain and cold battering us almost daily. The overcast skies were unremitting.

The seasons change in unpredictable ways. We want warmth and get cold. Then in summer the opposite happens. We long for cool nights and rain to revive our lawns and gardens. But we get heat and dryness.

That’s the way life is. Nothing goes according to plan. We want predictability and we get unpredictability. We desire the comfortable and accommodating. We receive constant change that pays no attention to our plans and hopes. Welcome to the real world.

Nature teaches us to be adaptable. Life is like skiing downhill on slippery slopes. We have to be ready for the unexpected and prepared to adjust, no matter what our expectations.

We will experience good times and bad. We will have up days and down days. Life is full of surprises.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words from 2 Corinthians 4:18, which are relevant to my train of thought. He said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Think about that insight. We have our eyes focused on what is seen, like the weather or the newspaper or the calendar. In the midst of life, we should have our eyes focused on God, who leads us through the temporary to the eternal. God pays little attention to the temperature outdoors or our calendar of events. He has focused on what is unchanging and long lasting.

When you face disappointments and sorrows, misplaced expectations and wishful thinking. Remember this too shall pass. We will soon forget today as life sweeps us along to tomorrow. God waits patiently to show us not the temporary, but the eternal.

Pastor Richard Pokora