Waiting for Spring...

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

During the winter I grow impatient with days of low temperatures and a tease of warmth. I look eagerly upward for the buds beginning to form on the trees and search for new growth from the soil.
This quiet month in the garden gives me time to reflect on God's timing of the seasons. It is a time of rest in the garden. A bulb might peek up here or there, but mostly the ground is tucked in by a blanket of leaves.

Humans are much like seasons. When we feel deflated or spent, it is a sign that we need to step back and re-nourish in God's word."Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17. Like the earth revels in the rain and the warm of the sun, we become a new creation in Christ.

And so, marking the days to the colors and climes of springtime, I am warmed by the promise of our Lord. Soon the ground will thaw and the streams will flow and the world will celebrate God's gift of beauty once again.

"Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again."—Sarah Ban Breathnach