The long, cold winter of 2025-2026 is officially over. Other than a few chilly nights or morning frosts here and there, we have survived the worst of it. This winter surely ranks among the coldest in recent history on the Eastern Shore. I heard so many people say they couldn't wait for spring to arrive (not to mention that I had a few members sending me pictures from the Caribbean Islands where it was 80 degrees). With warmer days and more sunlight, neighbors have been out walking in the evenings and working in their yards. I have to admit that is the one of the few times that I was eager to start the lawnmower and get the grass cut. What a difference a new season brings! 

In our lives as Christians, we will go through many seasons of change. When we first come to faith in Christ, everything seems new and exciting because we have a new love relationship with JESUS. We are hungry for the WORD and prayer and worship. We enjoy being around other Christians with which we share a common bond. We can't get enough of this newly found love. 

At some point, adversity comes in the form of tests and suffering. How can this be? How do we respond? Has God abandoned or forsaken us? All of these questions and more can fill our thinking. James 1:2-4 teaches us that we are not to rejoice over the individual trial but for the greater purpose that God is accomplishing, in and through us (Romans 8:28). 

Sometimes God takes us through a season of pruning, In other words, He removes dead leaves and twigs that we might be more fruitful (see John 15:1-5). When we enter God's school of discipleship, we must be ready for God to bring change to our lives and do a "house-cleaning" of the heart. Painful as it may be, it is absolutely essential if we are to become God's faithful servants. He wants us to be trophies of His grace for His glory. Don't despair when the seasons change; realize that God is brining us in line with His purposes. 


                                                                                                                - Pastor Carpenter