I am having a little bit of an identity crisis. I really loved the sunrise project last year, and my whole schedule revolved around the sun, the moon, or whatever other skyscape adventure I had access to in our neck of the woods.
But it’s been cloudy. Unrelentingly, drearily, disappointingly cloudy, and I have struggled to even find a part of the sky that is lighter, let alone being able to see the twinkling stars or the bella luna. I went through my January pictures from last year, and discovered only four sunrises that month. And our sunrises this month tie that pretty well, with the sunny days happening in a row, smack dab in the middle of the month.
We had a breathtaking sunrise on January 4th! It was a rapidly-changing pallet of pastel brights, and I was so sorry that I had no way to get out from the buildings in time to catch it in the open sky. This is a tiny patch of it, just for reference. Then the clouds did their thing until mid-month. We got three days of partly-cloudy skies, and several glimpses of the sun and moon during those days. I was very thankful for the respite from the gloom!
Because of all the cloudy weather, I have been forced to do other things. My enthusiasm for the sky has not dimmed, but this is a time of transition, so the clouds are helping do that. I am still processing the pictures that I took last year, and putting together several projects with those; I am also working on writing projects. Beau has been working on the next “Beau’s Shorts” episode, and Tony is recording while he still can, before the spring planting begins.
This beauty was taken in the evening of January 21st,
and was the last time we were able to see the moon.
We are also making some changes to our web site, taking down some pages in preparation to adding some new ones. Our focus is changing; and though we don’t have clear direction far into the future, we know what we no longer want to do, and have projects to complete and share right now. We will just trust the Lord for his leading when we get past them.
There are plenty of things to look forward to, right now: For one, Groundhog Day approaches on Friday! We are big fans of the 90’s movie, starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, and watch it every year. Is it boring to watch the same old story over and over, especially when the movie itself is built around the same day being lived through, over and over?
Never! We find a way to celebrate each year, inviting friends, and having what we call a “4-D experience.” Over the years, we have done some pretty crazy stuff! One year, when the kids were young, we all dressed up as groundhogs and hopped down the block! We made pizzas that looked like clocks on another year. And one year we apparently had a chocolate craze and decided to make a cake the looked like a groundhog. (We baked it in two different-sized round bowls, and frosted it so that it looked like the little guy was creeping with his nose to the ground.)
Last year was no exception: We made homemade drinks (“mocktails”) designed to mimic “sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist,” which is the drink Bill Murray loves to hate. Tony used his ginger ale as a base, and I forget what herbal infusion he used, but it was quite tasty, and we all enjoyed his invention, served in fancy cordial glasses, during the same scene.
What’s so special about Groundhog Day? Redemption. Everlasting life. Renewal through love.
In some ways, the movie is about accountability. Phil cannot escape, and he cannot move on. He has to face, straight on, the truth about who he is. He is the recipient of grace, in that he does not face consequences, long-term, for his actions during this day. In effect, he has been given an eternity to practice and learn without consequences. If he crashes his car, it is perfect when he wakes up the next morning. But he is able to retain his memory, along with any knowledge, and new skills that he has gained.
You could say that he has been forgiven the consequences of his actions, and has been given another chance (and another, and another) to get it right. This is exactly what God offers us. He has taken the consequences of our sins upon himself, and done so all the way to death “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). He takes the consequences and gives us another chance to do what’s right.
He forgives us completely: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12), as if we had never sinned in the first place. All we have to do is believe in him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
God made us for a purpose, and planned good things for us to do with the talents he gave us. He never meant for us to die or to suffer. He planned a “joyfully ever after” life, and that is still his will for us. When Adam betrayed God (and trusted the serpent), God, who is the source and essence of love, made a way to bring us home again. This second chance is a free gift to us, paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, who died that we might live. All we have to do is admit our need, and accept his offer. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
The change that Jesus brings us isn’t just relief from the penalty of sin; he actually comes into us and changes our hearts. We literally become a new creation. He brings us to a place of perfect peace, connected to God the Father, and at peace with each other through the love he puts into our hearts.
We are no longer the same after that, and we become like him, seeing the world through his loving eyes. That love changes us miraculously, over time, into the person we were always meant to be. His love motivates us, and fills us with purpose. We were designed to do good works, and that becomes our mission. That is our true self, the one we were looking for in all the wrong places before.
Groundhog Day is not a Christian movie; they barely acknowledge God. But the theme of eternity, and the route of redemption is there. They just use the trope of repetition to bring it about. We don’t need eternity to learn how to love in real life–in truth, eternity isn’t long enough for us to learn it on our own. We need Jesus.
Just give me Jesus, and I will get it right with his grace!
The Fullers Four 