February 21
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall bloom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. . . They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2
Although the temperature is supposed to reach the high forties today, there is not an ounce of appearance of Spring anywhere close by. In fact, snow and melting ice and now an overflow of water is covering everything outside. It isn’t easy to envision anything blossoming, let alone that little crocus we all wait for – that first sign the earth has softened and warmed. How quickly we forget that all the while the cold spread through us all, the earth was preparing for new life under all that hardness.
We all face many winters throughout life and it isn’t easy. We feel icy and hard inside, perhaps frozen in the moments we are in, unable to move physically or spiritually, to a place we long to go, because of circumstances out of our control. It is a challenge to hold on when we forget that God is with us – helping to lead us out of the way out of bitterness. With faith, we know that we will get through these times. Just as the seasons flow, one into another, so do our lives. All God asks of us is to trust, to hold on in faith to Him.
There is such a joyous feeling we all seem to get in the springtime! Even while we suffer, we just can’t help it! There is deep within us this inherent glimmer of hope that may be hidden in the darkness of our dry spirits, but deep down it is there, just as the bulbs out of sight under the earth wait for their time to blossom. Our hearts feel expectant and having endured the harsh cold, bitter winter, we rejoice in the beauty of what we see and hear in the newness all around us. Like the tiny crocus bursting through the snow sprinkled springtime earth, warmed and softened, our spirits too rejoice as we prepare to receive the new life God has in store for us. Oh for Spring to arrive, to have everything new again! Keep watch for that first crocus!!
Soften our hard hearts oh Lord, so with rejoicing, our faith may blossom with renewed life! Abb
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall bloom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. . . They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2
Although the temperature is supposed to reach the high forties today, there is not an ounce of appearance of Spring anywhere close by. In fact, snow and melting ice and now an overflow of water is covering everything outside. It isn’t easy to envision anything blossoming, let alone that little crocus we all wait for – that first sign the earth has softened and warmed. How quickly we forget that all the while the cold spread through us all, the earth was preparing for new life under all that hardness.
We all face many winters throughout life and it isn’t easy. We feel icy and hard inside, perhaps frozen in the moments we are in, unable to move physically or spiritually, to a place we long to go, because of circumstances out of our control. It is a challenge to hold on when we forget that God is with us – helping to lead us out of the way out of bitterness. With faith, we know that we will get through these times. Just as the seasons flow, one into another, so do our lives. All God asks of us is to trust, to hold on in faith to Him.
There is such a joyous feeling we all seem to get in the springtime! Even while we suffer, we just can’t help it! There is deep within us this inherent glimmer of hope that may be hidden in the darkness of our dry spirits, but deep down it is there, just as the bulbs out of sight under the earth wait for their time to blossom. Our hearts feel expectant and having endured the harsh cold, bitter winter, we rejoice in the beauty of what we see and hear in the newness all around us. Like the tiny crocus bursting through the snow sprinkled springtime earth, warmed and softened, our spirits too rejoice as we prepare to receive the new life God has in store for us. Oh for Spring to arrive, to have everything new again! Keep watch for that first crocus!!
Soften our hard hearts oh Lord, so with rejoicing, our faith may blossom with renewed life! Abb
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson