Spring is definitely my favorite season - the long-awaited sunny days, the birds chirping, the barbeque smells filling the air, the sound of children playing, the daffodils and pansies raising their colorful heads. Somewhere in the long hot summer and the interminable cold winter, it seems I often lose my inspiration. I get into plodding mode, where nothing is exciting and it seems just like a time of waiting. Even fall is similar to spring in that it is a new beginning. School starts, with sharp pencils, new crayons, fresh routines and schedules. But winter, and summer get so long.
I didn't blog all winter this year. Maybe that's ok. Maybe it's ok to allow for a time of dormancy and rest. Maybe it's a time of Mark 14:28 where Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray. They watched alright. And they didn't like what they saw. He told them this in the garden where He prayed for the cup of suffering to pass. And though it didn't, the winter-like waiting in the darkness brought His plan into fulfillment. And the spring of Resurrection came.
This winter was a time of waiting for me. Though I didn't know why I was feeling so sluggish and nothing brought joy, I was able thankfully to plod through my normal routines of coaching, exercise, bible study and just the dailyness of life. It wasn't until spring that I found that my thyroid was off-kilter and minor adjustments to my meds brought me back to life along with the blossoming world.
It occurred to me how in this retired season of life, I am more patient with waiting - waiting to get better, waiting for answers to prayers for loved ones and friends, waiting to get direction with this or that. Though the disciples had to suffer through the waiting of the time after Jesus left this earth, they were rewarded with His Resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The waiting can be so hard. I watch friends waiting to see if the cancer treatment will work, if their child will get better, if their relationship can be saved. But always, always, there is healing, there is spring - even if it is in heaven.
And, though winter may be long, it still offers us the beauty of a new-fallen snow, the comfort of a fire, a cup of hot tea. And though the heat of summer can be stifling, confining one inside with the air-conditioning, the sunshine, a trip to the beach or poolside, or a tall glass of iced tea is never better than during this season. Maybe even in our waiting time, we need to look for the blessings, knowing that whatever season of circumstance we're in, change is the only thing certain. And only our Sovereign Lord can work whatever is difficult during those seasons to the good - and He will! Yes, even in the deepest suffering whether it be physical or emotional. It will end. It will change. It will be to the good as He promises in Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Thank God for seasons.
Seasons Come and Seasons Go
The waiting sometimes seems forever,
The winter seems so long.
It seems so dark and cold and sad
It seems somehow wrong.
Suffering never makes sense to us
As we wait for its cure.
But always, always the pain ends
And somehow what we endured
Makes the joy seem more precious,
The spring more beautiful.
For without the waiting
It wouldn't be so noticeable.
Maybe we'd take it for granted.
If each day on earth was like heaven.
And that is His plan
For suffering acts like leaven.
Because as we wait we grow
Something deep inside of us
That enables us to see the plan
And the strength to wait in trust.
We see how He's been there
Again and again and again.
For this earth is a test and
All will find a time when
They must simply wait.
Seasons come and seasons go.
But I am thankful as I wait
I can know He loves me so.
