February blues

 I wrote all glowingly about snow yesterday.....from the safety and warmth of the inside of my home.

At the same time, some of you were driving through it on sloppy roads and not seeing the 'beauty' in it. I get it.

One night a few weeks ago I was the passenger for a white-knuckle drive while traffic crawled along, cars fishtailing around us on black ice. Meanwhile, the other side of the highway was dark and empty as it had been shut down due to a serious accident. The journey was ominous and bleak and I wanted nothing more than to be home in safety.

Every season has its dangers, but somehow winter can seem the bleakest. All we seem to see and feel is the longer hours of darkness and bone chilling winds that hold us in their icy grasp. February is often the most difficult month for many to get through.

 

Maybe it's the gardener in me, but I try to look at winter as necessary..... a season of patience, preparation, rejuvenation, and learning. Don't forget what we can't see right now........below that snow and hard soil, green sprouts are beginning to emerge. Sap is running and buds are forming on those branches being bent by cold winds and ice. Bulbs are building their strength and pushing their way upwards to burst forth when it's their time to shine and provide us with the astounding beauty of spring, when warmth, colour, and light wipe away the affects of the long bleak months of winter.

 

Would we appreciate the warmth if we never felt the cold? The color, without the dark and grey? The life, without the death? We want to answer "Yes...let me try it please!!!!"...but life's just not like that.

 

I recognize that different areas of the world experience seasons in different ways. But life really is a seasonal thing. Whether the seasons we experience are each dramatically different from one another or more subtle in nature, we all go through the dark, bleak times when life slows to a crawl and our heart ices over. We wonder if we are ever going to experience a brighter, warmer time in our life again.

Springtime follows winter. Winter is never the end. Whether in this life or the next we always have hope for brighter days ahead, and strength for the journey. Hold onto hope and the One who provides it.