The signs of spring are upon us.

The flowers are in bloom!  So are the weeds.  The baby birds nesting above my porch light have hatched and are now learning to fly! And they've left a mess for me to clean up.  Outside it is warm and sunny! And the air is filled with allergens.  Dignified guests have delivered thoughtful speeches! And their words have been promptly forgotten.  Our neighbors are enjoying the outdoors! And filling the air with the sound of chain saws.  The Royals have begun their season! And the Royals have begun their season.

The glass is always half-empty, isn't it?

And yet, isn't it amazing how the good things of this world often fill our memories, and crowd out the unpleasantness that comes along with them?  We look back fondly on the celebrations, adulations, and graduations, while the spoil, toil, and turmoil somehow recede into the background.  The struggles were real.  But, for the most part, they are stuck firmly in the past where they cannot harm us.  And we are free to enjoy that which is good.

I think about this sometimes when I read the Bible's descriptions of heaven.  Thanks to the grace of God in Christ, we are headed to a future where God "will wipe away every tear from our eyes."  A day is coming, a blessed eternal spring, when all the sorrows of this life will fade into the background.  Out of sight, out of mind, and out of range.  They will not be able to harm us any longer.  And we will be free to enjoy that which is good, forever.