Last Friday, March 20, 2009, was the “official” beginning of spring and I was glad! It seems that the older I get the more I welcome the return of warmer weather and out-of-door activity The budding of trees, blooming of flowers and resurgence of color in the landscape always invigorates my spirit. I look forward to working in my yard, bringing the patio furniture out of storage and enjoying the evening breeze while sitting on my back porch.
But there’s something much more profound to me about spring. With the changing of each season of he year I am reminded of God’s power in creation. Going all the way back to the beginning of time we learn from Genesis 1:14 how God, on the fourth day of creation, “set lights in the sky to divide the day from the night and be signs for seasons and years.” Later, God promised Noah after the flood that, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen. 8:22). The prophet Daniel proclaimed, “He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Dan. 2:21). The changing of one season to the next is far more than an astronomical occurrence. It is a transition mandated by God, Himself. .
As those of us who live in the northern hemisphere welcome spring people south of the equator are actually gearing up for the cooler temperatures of autumn. On Friday, March 20, 2009, at precisely 6:44 A.M. CDT, the Sun crossed directly over the earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (“vernal” denotes "spring" and “equinox” means “equal night”). For the Southern Hemisphere, this was the moment of the autumnal equinox. Because the sun is positioned above the equator on this particular day, sunlight and darkness were approximately equal in length all over the world. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23 and marks the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
As we witness another transition from one season to the next I hope you will stop in the midst of the brilliant, unfolding scenes of beauty and praise God for His wonderful wisdom, power and might.
That's The Way I See It!
But there’s something much more profound to me about spring. With the changing of each season of he year I am reminded of God’s power in creation. Going all the way back to the beginning of time we learn from Genesis 1:14 how God, on the fourth day of creation, “set lights in the sky to divide the day from the night and be signs for seasons and years.” Later, God promised Noah after the flood that, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen. 8:22). The prophet Daniel proclaimed, “He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Dan. 2:21). The changing of one season to the next is far more than an astronomical occurrence. It is a transition mandated by God, Himself. .
As those of us who live in the northern hemisphere welcome spring people south of the equator are actually gearing up for the cooler temperatures of autumn. On Friday, March 20, 2009, at precisely 6:44 A.M. CDT, the Sun crossed directly over the earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (“vernal” denotes "spring" and “equinox” means “equal night”). For the Southern Hemisphere, this was the moment of the autumnal equinox. Because the sun is positioned above the equator on this particular day, sunlight and darkness were approximately equal in length all over the world. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23 and marks the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
As we witness another transition from one season to the next I hope you will stop in the midst of the brilliant, unfolding scenes of beauty and praise God for His wonderful wisdom, power and might.
That's The Way I See It!
