As a Texan, I was not prepared for a true Northern Winter. When the first Wisconsin snow fell, I was excited and inspired by the delicate beauty and the clean-slate look of the world. I took pictures and sent them to friends and family in the South: "Look! It's me in SNOW!!!" As the winter wore on, I experienced driving in real snow for the first time--at 5:30am before the snow plows had cleared the roads. I experienced digging my car from the snow, dodged snow plows, fixed the frozen lock on my car door, caught snowflakes on my tongue, learned how to wear scarf, and even threw a few snowballs.
Soon, January had come and gone, and February followed. March arrived, and I remembered hearing that saying as a child: "March roars in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." So March roared in, and I had hopes that it would tiptoe out with gentle, fluffy bleats, but not so. April came, and still the snow continued. Just when I had convinced myself that I'd been transported to Narnia's perpetual winter and began planning a second Christmas, the snow flurries stopped, and signs of Spring cautiously began to creep in. Baby buds on the trees popped up their little heads. Patches of bald ground sleepily stretched in the expanses of snow. Soon, the birds began to sing again, as if it were full-blown Spring. The geese glided in as garrulous as ever, and the still, solid river began to move again. Then it was May, and the tulips were blooming in their Sunday best. The sun finally deigned to show its face every now and then, and the solid precipitation turned liquid (except for one freak snow flurry in mid-May). The baby leaf buds were a soft, adolescent green, and lush green grass ground blanketed the ground!
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| Proof that Spring does come eventually! |
We all go through seasons in our lives, and sometimes, in the Winter, it seems like Spring will never come. The bad news keeps snowing in, and the sunny days seem far away. Maybe it's just a constant shoveling as debt is cleared away, or relationships are dug out of snow and need to thaw out and be repaired. We get tired of dodging snow plows and occasionally getting plowed right over. In whatever situation you may be dealing with, just remember that Spring will come. God has not forgotten us in our Winter, and He's still in charge of the weather. Psalm 147:16-18 says, "He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes and the waters flow."
What wintery situations are you dealing with right now? Let me know so I can pray for you!
