Porch Season

First thing in the morning after my husband left, I took a beautiful red apple from a bowl, put some chicken tenders on to simmer, and chopped the apple and celery for a chicken salad lunch. Howard called about 11:45 to say he was on his way home.  I started to set the table, then a thought occurred to me: Why not eat on the porch?  It was a beautiful day, if not too cool, but when I went to check, it was perfect!

Quickly I unfolded a small, slatted table and chairs and brushed them off.  I grabbed some paper plates, then remembered the new dishcloths that would work as table mats. We could use our rustic, country jar mugs bought recently.  So casual that  I left the chicken salad in the mixing bowl.  When we had begun to eat, I said, "I should take a picture of this! But I need a prettier bowl!" Putting the remaining salad into a smaller bowl, I told Howard to wait while I took the pic.  He enjoyed getting all the "likes" on his photo!

Now that spring is almost here, we are anticipating more times of relaxation on our front porch. The winter seemed to go on forever, making us appreciate the recently-warm days even more.  I was thinking of a time a porch was mentioned in the Bible, only this time it was not spring. "And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked the temple in Solomon's porch," John 10:22-23.

I could just see Jesus wrapping his robe more tightly about Him in the winter chill as He strode along. Jesus knew his time was short.  He had just come through a season of popularity.  His miracles, his teachings, and the belief that he was a deliverer of the people had even made them parade him as a king, making a cloak-strewn path for him to trod. What a joyous time of good will He had experienced.  But now He was in a time of winter.  The populace had turned against him. Crucifixion loomed on the horizon.

Even though it is becoming spring, it seems as if we as Christians are in a time of winter.  Every day new condemnation comes to us in media, government, and much public opinion.  Our freedoms are being threatened if not taken away.  We are barely allowed to speak of our beliefs. It is not popular to be a Christian; some even say we are not a Christian nation.

The porch Jesus used in the Bible was called a portico.  A portico is an entrance to a building, often a long hallway with columns.  This is what Jesus walked that day.  Jesus knew that at the end of his earthly walk, He would enter the portico of Heaven. But first, He would arise from the dead in a joyous Easter spring!

Winter is past, and in just a few weeks we will celebrate Easter. But it will be nothing like the glorious sunrise of the day we enter the portals of heaven, the dark, chilling gloom of troubled times behind us.  We are about to step onto the porch!