Promises We Can Count On

One of my favorite (and most memorable) assignments from high school was a “Nature Journal” that I had to keep during the spring semester of my sophomore year for English class. As directed by the assignment, I located a spot in nature and returned to that spot for 30 minutes biweekly for about two months. Each time, I responded to a writing prompt and took a picture of my surroundings. One time, I even had a close encounter with feral hogs. Yikes!

Looking back, this was more than simply a writing assignment. It was an opportunity for my teenage self to disconnect, reflect, and grow in awareness of the world outside of myself. At the end of the assignment, I was able to look back at the logs with photos and see the bare trees and foliage-littered ground explode into a forest of varying shades of green. The only time in my life where I have truly reveled in, recorded and noticed the wonder of springtime was during this assignment.

The first reading today immediately reminded me of this high school nature journal. Isaiah reminds us that rain and snow have the visible purpose and effect of nourishing the Earth. We, with our human eye, can witness this purpose quite explicitly each Spring. The renewal of our earth is truly an amazing thing and it is something we can count on! We know that every March the world around us will begin to take on new life—that is a promise that God gives to us. In these verses, Isaiah also reminds us that God’s word and promises cannot fail to nourish the earth, just like the rain and the snow. Human intentions may fail, but the promises of God will always succeed. This is also something we can count on! He has a purpose, He has spoken it into action, and He promises its success. We can rest in the hope of his eternal plan, purpose, and promise. I am thankful for these verses in Isaiah and the reminder of the promises of God.

My challenge and prayer for myself during this Lenten season is to return to the mindset I had while completing my high school nature journal. I want to sit in awe of the promise of Spring, the promise of life, and ultimately the promise of Christ.

Author: Sara Krusekopf, Mathematics Dept.