When I was a young girl in West Michigan, we always celebrated spring and the blooming of the first flowers on May 1. I'd make a basket out of construction paper and fill it with any flowers I could find—mostly daffodils and violets. Then I would place the basket on my neighbor's doorstep, knock on her door, and quickly hide behind a bush. I'd peek out to watch her as she opened the door and picked up her surprise. When she went inside, I'd run home.

The beauty of springtime flowers and the regular changing of the seasons reminds us of God's faithfulness. When Noah and his family and the animals came out of the ark after the flood waters receded, God gave them this promise: "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). And He's been faithful to keep that promise ever since. God "made the worlds," and He continues to uphold "all things by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:2-3).

Let's thank God today for His beautiful creation and for His faithfulness in sustaining His world and us.

   — Anne Cetas