The other day, my Facebook status mentioned that my crocuses were blooming, and after a discussion in which a friend said that she’d seen an azalea blooming, we joked that it would snow soon. We were right, we have a couple of dustings of snow in the past few days, alternating with clear, bright, crisp, freezing cold, sunny days. But even in these days of cold and snow, it isn’t the same bleak, freezing snow of the dark days of winter. It’s the spring snow and spring cold.

Chatting about the coming of spring, and how you can physically feel the change in the air, one of our Matushkas said “Aslan is on the move.” I talked last year about how March comes in like a lion and how my awareness of that has increased these past few years, this year I was struck with this bringing together of March’s beginnings with the beginning of Spring and the way it coincides with Great Lent, in fact the etymology of the word “Lent”* actually means “Spring”. Rebeca has fleshed this idea out better than I ever could, but I have been continually struck by the way that Spring’s tendrils encompass our lives, and how the same thing occurs with Lent – how we have the storms of Lent, the bright and crispness of Lent, and the new growth in our lives each Lent. And, how like flowers are found in the weeds and debris of winter, how God is found in the weeds and debris of my life – and like I need to clean around the flowers and buds, I need to clean out my heart and my life through this joyful time of repentance, fasting, almsgiving and increased prayer. As we pray on the weekdays of Lent:
O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth,
despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.

Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own transgressions
and not to judge my brother,
for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. – St Ephraim the Syrian.

Pray for me this Lent that I may be ready for Pascha.

*I have this theory that the word lentil is related to the word Lent, but I’ve never known for sure. I have a friend who recently got the OED for her birthday, this reminds me I need to email her and ask if this is true.