I don’t recall a season in my thirty-plus years when I did not look forward to fall. The cooler weather, the beautiful display of color-checked mountains, the anticipation of holiday get-togethers, cuddling under blankets, and hot coffee by the fire. Ahh!
Signs of the season. This year was different. My second full garden season ushered in unexpected emotions with the yellowing of the trees and the coat of bronze pine needles in the yard. As I observe these pictures of the beauty of the season, all I see is one thing: impending death.
It sounds dramatic, I know. But for the first time in my life I really took in the drab of winter last year. Bare trees, brown lawn, and the few signs of life. I looked at my dreary backyard, bordered with wilted pine trees from the recurring ice storms and longed for signs of life.
A hopeful view. I shared this with my mom one day, and I should not have been surprised at the wisdom she immediately uttered.
“The dead of winter is what makes spring so beautiful.”
It’s no wonder her favorite flower is the jonquil. Along with the Bradford pear trees, the slender green leaves poking through the mulch last winter brought my heart such joy. New life is coming! Spring is on its way!
Spring is coming. I suppose I should look at winter for what it is—a reminder that no matter how dead the world around us seems, for believers in Christ, spring is always on its way.
A marriage seems hopeless, but out of nowhere a sign of life appears. Spring is coming.
Long unemployment tests our faith, but soon a break comes. Spring is coming.
Terminal illness threatens to cripple spirit as well as body, but peace emerges. Whether in this life or the next, spring is coming.
A prodigal child is away from home, but a knock on the door happens when you least expect it. Spring is coming.
When winter delays. It may be a long, hard, dreary winter. The sun may not shine for days or weeks. The end doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. But when our hope is in Christ, we can rest in the hope that never fails. In an answer to the when and how that only he knows,
Spring is coming.
Are you enduring a winter in your life? What do the seasons show you about what God has planned for your future?