Spring. It’s actually not my favorite season; that for sure is summer. Spring is so inconsistent weatherwise, and most of the warm days are also rainy. At least here in NEO, the temperature swings are crazy, and there’s a decent chance of snow really up until mid-April. (Most years, anyway; this winter has been so mild that I’d be truly shocked if we saw more snow.) School is still in session, any church classes are still going on, and then the yard work gets added in, and it’s not the weekly maintenance yard work either. It’s all the hard work of cleaning up debris leftover from fall and winter, preparing the beds and garden boxes, and planting. That all adds up to a major time crunch.
In comparison, summer is universally warm, I can line dry all my laundry if I time things right, and the yard work is the relatively light maintenance work of weeding, trimming, and harvesting.
The one thing that spring has going for it, though, are the signs of new life everywhere one looks. The snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils…..all of those are sweet reminders that the Lord sustains life. Despite appearances during the winter – dead, dry, invisible under piles of snow (or mud), brown, and lifeless – underneath it all is life, hibernating, waiting……waiting for the warmth and the heat and for all to be right.
And in much the same way, the Lord breathes life into us – no matter how long the winter, no matter how grey the skies, yet we can blossom and flourish and thrive again. Not on our schedule, when we want it to happen, but at the time that He ordains to be right.
Winter has been long. Spring is here. The Lord’s faithfulness extends to the clouds. His mercies are new every morning. And I am grateful.
The beauty of the flowers coming up from the ground reminds us of the beauty of Gods’ love for all of us. The extra work in spring can be hard, but like our continuing walk with Jesus, it is always worth it. Thanks to you for this reminder of what is in store for us, no matter the current circumstances.