Spring Thoughts
Posted on Mar 15, 2022 by Laura Cooper
Spring is only a few days away. It is a time of awakening and renewal, a time of organizing and cleaning out our lives. Everyone does some type of spring cleaning. We open our windows when it is warm enough and let in the fresh air. We also can do this with our spiritual lives, a cleansing of our souls. We clean out the cobwebs and bring in fresh perspective and light. Spring also gives us hope that better days are ahead. Easter is coming!!
Easter is special to me. I grew up in the South, where Easter was a formal affair. This will age me, but a dress, tights, hat, dress shoes, and gloves were required for Easter Sunday.
Starting in my 4-year-old Sunday school class, we were given little boxes on the first day of Lent. We were to fill the boxes with change that we earned during Lent and then bring those boxes back at Easter to be laid in a wooden cross. We were also to place a lily flower in the hole in the box before bringing it to church. Each child took turns walking up to the cross and placing their box and flower into the cross. The money in the boxes was donated to local charities. It made me feel good to donate this money that I earned helping my mother and grandmother with jobs around the house. It was my first time giving to people in need.
I always connect this memory with spring/Easter. I take a look at my spiritual life, like a checkup. What can I improve? Where can I help more? I look at my giving. Doing enough? Not enough? I do some organizing at home. What needs to be improved? I usually schedule routine medical tests during this time. To me, it feels like I am taking inventory of things, and I feel like this started in church on Easter Sunday all those years ago. It felt right then, and it feels right now! Happy spring!
Laura Cooper
Salem Office Administrator