What We Can Learn From Spring
By Katey Schneider
Changing Seasons Are a Time to Reflect
It’s officially springtime! Well, not officially officially. But the trees are almost blooming, the weather is (slightly and slowly) warming up, and the days are getting longer.
While I personally enjoy the winter season, it is colder, darker, and all around more difficult than the spring and summer days.
The trees are bare, the flowers are gone, the ground is frozen, and everything (including the people) seems to be hibernating for the season.
But the cold, midwest-winter days can help remind us that there is more coming. We’ve been through long winter’s before, and yet the promise of sunshine and warmer days is always fulfilled.
The change from winter to spring can serve as a significant metaphor for the changes and growth we experience in our own lives. Just as spring persistently emerges from the powerful grasp of winter, our personal seasons of struggle and hardships give way to seasons of growth and renewal.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reads, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace."
This passage from the Old Testament reminds us that change and growth are just part of life. Each season has its own purpose, its own chapter in our life. There is beauty and fulfillment through the good and the bad.
The harshness of winter prepares the earth for the growth of spring. And isn’t this true in our lives, too? Our seasons of adversity can prepare us for new growth and opportunities.
Here are a few ways you can apply the lessons from spring into your life.
Let Go of the Old
Out with the old and in with the new. Cliches are cliche for a reason, right? The trees shed their leaves for the winter season in preparation for the restorative spring season. What do you need to let go of in order to grow? Maybe it’s old habits, thought patterns, relationships, or physical “stuff.”
Whatever it is, don’t let old baggage prevent you from moving forward.
Embrace New Opportunities
Spring is filled with opportunity – the flowers are blooming and we’re heading outside again. What opportunities can you open yourself up to in your life? Maybe it’s a new career opportunity, a family activity, or adding a new habit to your life.
Trust in God’s Timing
Spring comes in its own time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming. This is something we can apply to our faith life, too. Recall back to what you have prayed for in your life. It may not have happened exactly when you were hoping, but God always comes through. Trust in God’s timing and the plan God has for your life.
Find the Good in Every Season
While it’s important to wait for the next season, try and find beauty in the one you’re living. Even in the coldest of winter, there is so much good to be found. So if you’re in the midst of a struggling season, what are some positives you can find in your life?
So as you embrace the changing of the seasons, spend some time reflecting on the ways that God is at work in your life. Pray and ask God to reveal the areas where we may need to let go of the old and embrace the beauty of change. Be willing to allow God to guide you as you seek growth and change.
Keep me updated!
I want to know what you’re looking forward to in this new season. Send me a text and let me know what you can apply in your life.