Living in the mid-west my whole life, I have grown to absolutely love spring. I love the sounds of birds singing and of water rushing into the street drains as the snow melts away. Something about the emergence of spring and all that comes with it is so exhilarating after the long hibernation of winter.
As another snow storm trampled its way through the area, and I wondered why certain things are going the way they’re going in my life, I got to thinking about how the change of winter over to spring is kind of an analogy of life.
Cold, snowy winters are like the challenges of life. Some winters are mild. Not terribly snowy or cold. We make it through without too much misery. And it melts away into spring with a small celebration.
But some winters are much too long and cold. Day after day we awaken to bitter cold temps that seem to scream: “Stay in bed!” We find ourselves exhaustingly shoveling piles of snow off the walkways only to find a fresh new layer has fallen in its place. And after a while it gets really old!
Sometimes the struggles in our life can seem like a long winter. The bad news keeps coming and coming, just like the snow! And many mornings we’d rather stay in bed under the covers than face the bitter cold of our circumstances.
But – ahhhh – God created spring! He created new beginnings! Eventually the temperatures start to rise, slowly but surely. The snow will start to melt and the struggles of this season of our life will rush away into the drains with seasons past. The fresh smells and the sounds of the birds entice us to open our windows and welcome the invigorating spring air. The excitement of the newness of spring changes our whole attitude and suddenly things seem brighter.
And as I thought about how much I look forward to spring, I realized – spring wouldn’t be this amazing if it didn’t come on the heels of winter.
God has spring waiting for each of us when we get to the end of our winter. I guess we need to hang in there… bundle up… and keep shoveling. Pretty soon we’ll hear the birds and we’ll be opening our windows again.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:21-23 NLT)
He spreads snow like a white fleece, he scatters frost like ashes, He broadcasts hail like birdseed— who can survive his winter? Then he gives the command and it all melts; he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring! (Psalm 147:16-18 MSG)
Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. (Song of Songs 2:11, 12 NLT)
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture. (Zechariah 10:1 NLT)