April offers the hope of spring and a new growing season. This year, that feeling of hopefulness couldn’t come soon enough, after a winter of being cooped up even more than usual.
The changing of the seasons has a special resonance for Christians living in parts of the world where Easter coincides with spring. As winter fades and spring takes its place, we witness the natural world’s cycle of death and resurrection at the same time that we prepare our hearts for Good Friday remembrance and Easter celebration.
The Lenten season is a time of reflection and preparation for the coming celebration of the resurrection. This has been a Lenten year: a year of holding both sadness and hope in our hearts.
At this time last year, we lived in a world reeling from lockdowns, fear and disruption. The supply chain was thrown into temporary chaos as farmers struggled to find enough labour, as dairy producers had to dump milk, and as processing plants closed due to outbreaks.
Our president, Ed Scharringa, wrote CFFO’s Easter reflection this time last year, saying, “The stress and strain of trying to cope with it all reverberates on a day like today, Good Friday. This is the day when Christians the world over remember the suffering and death of our Saviour. But at the same time that we reflect on His suffering, we also find our hope and strength in the upcoming commemoration and celebration of Easter.”
A year later, we may not be feeling as overwhelmed as we did those first few weeks of the pandemic. Farmers have pivoted, economized, found ways to get by and keep going, which for many resulted in a season better than expected. Still, many continue to experience hurdles this growing season, as policy makers struggle to balance economic necessity with health and wellbeing, and as the losses of last year affect the potential of this one. Even so, we recognize that the agriculture sector has responded with agility and determination during the pandemic. As Christians, we remain reliant on God through it all. We eagerly await the joy of life renewed.
May you have a blessed Easter.