Sometimes our world falls dark and we are left groping spiritually—searching for answers that don’t come, searching for our own emotional and spiritual footing. And any number of things can shut off the lights: The death of someone we love dearly, the death of a marriage, or the death of a dream. The loss of a job, or the necessity of a re-location to a new city. A debilitating illness or injury.

We tend not to want people—especially church people—to know we’re in the valley. Even our songs, if we are not careful, will communicate that we’re on the mountaintop and all is well and our soul rejoices and our faith is sure. The truth is that every time we come together some of us are in the valley. No one should feel like you have to force a smile.

Spring is a marvelous time of year. Except for football season, spring is my favorite season. I’m not a cold weather guy, and I really like it when things begin to warm up. Spring is the time when we start looking for signs of new life. A cherry blossom here. A new flower there. A bird’s song here. A bottle of allergy medicine there. A yellow car in your driveway here…you know, signs of new life.