Winter's Warning.

I’ve started counting the days.
 
With just three months until June 21st, we are officially 92 days away from summer (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least)! I love summer. I love the longer days, shorter nights, and overall chill vibe this season brings. Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself because as of yesterday, it is only now that we have reached the beginning of spring.  
 
With winter’s official exit now behind us, I’ve taken some time to reflect on what this season taught me, and I realized it gave me a warning. Maybe it offered you one too.
 
I learned recently that winter plays a necessary role in the cultivation of vegetation. For farmers and gardeners alike these bitterly cold months are vital in ensuring a proper harvest. After doing some research, I found that plants enter survival mode during the winter months. Here, they conserve their nutrients and prepare for the months of bloom ahead.  
 
Isn’t that something? Even life’s harshest seasons serve a purpose, and in turn, create something beautiful.
 
The same is true for us. We all go through different seasons, times in our lives where things feel like spring and periods where life just feels dormant. Both serve a purpose. My humanness tends to lend itself to my wanting of spring more than winter, but this year I’ve been learning that there is reason to give thanks for both.
 
Though we experience seasons of change, heartache, pain, and seemingly bitter circumstances, this too can produce something better, stronger, and more fruitful within us. Though we may feel buried, we are actually being prepared to bloom.
 
Just like winter eventually gives way to spring and spring undoubtedly turns into summer, we too can find hope in the fact that we will see sunnier days again. This may not make the winter days any warmer, but it can remind us of their purpose.
 
With the commencement of spring upon us, I want to give thanks for the former days of winter. Every year this season holds the potential to teach us something of value. It warns all who pay attention that the sun will not always shine the way it does in July, neither will life always feel like we are in a season of bloom, but this reality does not have to hinder our joy. Instead, it can fuel our persistence. Though winter may come for a time, spring too will come again.
 
Just as the Psalmist stated, “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
 
Happy Thursday!
Natalie Brown