I always have something going on when I walk! The spring in my step is better described as a drunken stagger. I don’t notice it, but according to my wife I walk funny. It’s not just my wife; everyone who has seen me with or without my walking aids have noticed I look like I have a problem with the bottle. A spring in my step might better be described as a drunken stupor in my gait followed by a stumble and maybe even a fall. It is not fall though, it’s almost spring which gives me a spring in my step even when I am zipping around in my wheelchair!

It didn’t last long…

…not the drunken staggering walk, but rather the spring in my step. I will always struggle with walking, barring a miracle, but hidden in my lack of coordination there will be days and even weeks, possibly months that I have a spring in my step. It is not a literal spring in my step, it is not a change to my gait, it is rather a feeling that everything is alright. Sometimes it goes further. Sometimes I get so happy that I forget everything is not alright, that I can’t walk like I once did. When the figurative spring in my step becomes the literal spring in my step I can end up with a floor in my face. Quickly the cause of the spring in my step is forgotten and I remember that being happy on the inside, even letting it spread to my face is okay, but never ever let it spread to my feet and legs or things won’t end well!

Living where I do…

…has its advantages. We have four truly different seasons, six if you count construction and pothole repair which start as soon as spring arrives and end when winter shows up. The first snowfall, usually in the fall, is exciting but by the time the end of January arrives, especially this year, snow and considerably less sunlight than the spring, summer and fall makes me feel like I’ve taken a shovel (snow shovel) to the head. But then, all of a sudden, usually in March, the temperatures rise to a balmy 10+ degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) for a few days and everyone including me seems to have a spring in their step. While a literal spring in my step may cause me to literally fall, a spring in the step of the average Canadian caused by a bump in temperature often sets them up for a figurative fall.

It was close to +20°C (70°F) last week in Toronto.  

We will reach a high of around +1°C (32°F) today and there is a good chance of a fair amount of snow. The spring has sprung and the temperature is beginning to fall. I still walk like I am drunk but there is no longer a spring in my step. I know that there are warmer days ahead but for now it feels like they will never come. A glimmer of hope has been snuffed out.

There is no command to be happy about every season.

There is, however, a better way to experience joy no matter what season you are in in your life. You can have a spring in your step in the deep dark dead of winter. While our eternal home has not been realized, once we have addressed our need for a saviour we can, with confidence, take step after step through life with a little spring in each one, for most of you both figuratively and literally, for me, I will keep the spring in my step away from my feet.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)