Daughters of Promise March/April 2015 | Page 7

am in love with Spring. Nothing compares to this, the season of new life. There is an energy in the transforming earth as it unfurls its protective cupping to release the tender buds of life. I find such pleasure in meandering the wide open spaces in spring. With warm sun bathing my face and baby green grass springing beneath bare feet, the world is a playground of beauty intended to delight the senses. I grew up in the country, more at home in the meadows and woods than indoors. This past year was the first I spent an entire Spring season living in the city. It was something different and I enjoyed it, but my heart is skipping a beat as I pack the belongings of my darling apartment and prepare to move back to the country. This makes three moves in two years, but I feel invigorated by this one. In two weeks I’ll be keeping home in a sweet little rancher positioned between rolling fields and expansive woods, with a glistening pond situated just across the road. I am ecstatic about experiencing the earth’s post-winter awakening from this location! It might be possible to belabor the parallels between earth’s spring and that of the heart, but I am going to risk it and parallel anyway. We walk through seasons of winter, sisters, and it is ok. Periods of dormancy are necessary for new growth to happen, as difficult as such periods can be. Life’s wintry seasons are bearable by the grace of God, and the promise that hope is growing in those dark, unseen places inside. Warmed by the steady love of our Heavenly Father, new life stirs within; the tender growth tended by His kind hand. Be it ever so slowly, growth is happening in you! You may not see it yet, but I promise you...spring is coming, when the good work Jesus began in you will reveal itself in completion. This spring, take cheer as you observe the bleak cold of the earth melting away into golden rivers of life. Remember that God is doing this same work in you, and keep your heart soft. A seed