In hard times, it is important to remember that God has a springtime in
store for us and for our tired world. God will make everything new. Beyond all
our shattered hopes and dreams, something wonderful and transformative will
make us forget the tears and pain and drudgery of life. Have we any hint of
what this might be like?

Some years ago, a magic moment transformed a dull day in the Concourse of
the Train Station in Antwerp. The travellers were all going their own way at
the time, busy about their affairs. Some were happy, others sad, or serious, or
worried or relaxed. Suddenly a song from The
Sound of Music fills the Concourse. Actors in ordinary clothes begin to
dance. The onlookers can’t tell actors from spectators, so people stop what
they’re busy about and get in on the act themselves. Children get in first on
the dance, then adults who have the hearts of children. People are drawn out of
themselves by the fun of it all. Some hold their hands to their mouths in
delighted awe, others begin to cry for joy. Eventually the Concourse is full of
dancers. There’s space for everyone, whether they’re coordinated for dancing or
not. Nobody’s looking critically at how you perform your arthritic jig or that
you wave your crutch. The outer circle is littered with bags and coats which
people have shed in order to dance freely. Maybe the coat and the bag will be stolen,
but who cares? Only a few onlookers hold back, but even they are intrigued, and
others coax them in. Cameras flash so that this ecstatic moment can be recalled
and passed on to friends. Laughter and tears of joy mingle with regret when the
music ends.

Will God’s springtime break in on our unsuspecting world somewhat like
that, and happily last forever?