Entering a final season

Spring has now sprung in Vancouver – the blossoms are finally out, after a long winter that was full of snow and rain. Well..there is still the rain in spring but the temperature is a bit warmer and there are more days of sunshine!

As I head into this last season of my time in Vancouver, I’ve been reflecting on how much the seasons of the year have shaped my sabbatical. But also how much they shape so much of our lives. Over lay that with the Church calendar and then the disorientation of being in winter for advent and spring heading into summer for lent and it’s a strange mix of seasons that are a bit jumbled in my head!

I came to Vancouver in summer, after a season that personally was one of winter but the spring had started to come and there was the hopefulness of a new seasons, new joys, new possibilities. It has certainly been all of that – one where I have discovered more of my love of the biblical story and Jesus, made new life long friends, new experiences, epic holidays and the joy of having a flexible schedule as a student again. There have been blessings and gifts that I have received as a foreigner, entering a new land and new community that have often surprised me and been gratefully received. There have also been times of home sickness and loneliness where I have felt far away from home.

As I enter the next two months (and two days to be exact!), I am hoping to finish my time well, to laugh and cry as I say goodbye to people that have become my people here. It’s a funny thing of grieving friends as I leave but delighting in friends and family as I return. As is so often the case and something I feel God often is teaching me – it is the paradox of our lives and of the cross, joy and pain, they go hand in hand.

It is resurrection Sunday here today and I went to a 6.30am morning service with a bunch of people from my church. It was another new experience for me as I have never been to a sunrise service. We had a beautiful vista of the mountains and the sunrise – he is risen, he is risen indeed.