Longing for Spring

Montreal shed her winter white outer layer last week and though we're all still in parkas, and though we're all still in boots, and though the ground is still freezing, we can feel it. Spring. 

@livemontreal / @joannagoddard

I have a deeper appreciation for Spring since moving to Montreal, particularly since experiencing winter in a small condo with babies. Having three Autumn babies, winters have always felt especially long. These bitter cold months are no place for newborns, as h-core as I like to think I am about the season. And so we hibernate. Quaint in November, festive in December, annoying in January, discouraging in February, hopeful in March. With spring comes such hope.

This year one of the ways I've found myself preparing my heart for the Easter season is reading through The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis. I'm ashamed to say it was my first time reading through the whole book, but oh did I devour it. As the children of Adam were racing towards the stone table and hope was stirring in their hearts that Aslan might just be coming to make all things right again, the snow was melting. And the Queen of Narnia refused to believe it, but it was undeniable.

This is no thaw. This is spring... This is Aslan's doing.

The climactic change that my city is experiencing points to something far more beautiful. We all long for seasonal Spring to hit Montreal, but the deeper desire still, is for spiritual Spring to come to this great city. 

Most years leading up to Easter I forego giving something up for Lent, as it seems too ritualistic and often unhelpful. This year was actually an exception but that's a post for another day. I've wanted to prepare my heart for Easter and not let it sneak up on me like Christian holidays often do, and reading Lewis proved beautifully helpful in doing so. 

We've been outside more this week than probably in the month of February combined. I've found myself walking 5km a day oftentimes carrying a 30lb baby every step of the way. Maybe it's endorphins after a lazy winter or the vitamin D we've been lacking. But it might also be that Spring stirs up in me a lot of the same feelings that I have when I reflect on the gospel. 

Hope. A chance for a fresh start. All things new. Joy.