“For, lo, the winter is past, the
rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of
the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in
our land.”
—Song of Solomon 2:11-12
Winter passes. Hope begins. Life
renews.
After a long season of winter, we see
the green grass, observe the flowers budding, and watch as the trees
extend their leaves. We hear the birds sing and smell the sweet
expressions of new life all around us. Without that winter season,
though, this new life would not be as vivid and our gratefulness
would not be as fully realized for those little things that brighten
the spring days.
So, too, are the seasons of the soul.
We ought not despise the chill of the air that God perhaps is using
to prepare us for the time when He will warm our hearts with His
love. Without that chill, we might not completely appreciate the
warmth of communing with Him as He stokes the fire within.
The monotony of the snow in making the
earth one color, albeit at times a beautiful sparkling color, must
not be dismissed either because that snow is nourishing the life
beneath. In the same sense, the monotony of daily living must not
drive us to a despondency in our walks with Him, but rather be used
as a time of rest and refreshing, in order to be better prepared for
the next season.
We should not let the quiet and
stillness of the snow lull us into a deep sleep of the soul, but
rather use this quiet for purer conversations with the Lord in prayer
and Bible reading for a time of sweet communion with the One Who
ordained this silent season.
O, that we would not let the winters of
our souls come to nothing. May they be seen by us as a time of God's
choosing. May we ask Him during these seasons how to be content and
how to redeem that time with Him properly, having great expectation
that when the winter passes, we will experience a new season filled
with its own benefits.
And may we be reminded that all seasons of
the soul are designed by the Lord to bring us closer to Him.
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| Spokane, WA (January 2007) |
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