Spring

Spring is in the air here in Wooster. The sun is shining, and though the air still has a chilly bite to it, the snow is mostly melted and the grass is stretching as it waits for the first flower buds to push through the soil. There are still patches of ground that have coverage from the tree branches that remain frozen- but even those icy spots are few and far between. Spring is coming- slowly but surely.

As I revel in the sunshine yet huddle in my warm winter coat, I am reminded of the hardened frozen areas of my heart that God has begun to air out, to expose to the sunshine as of late. He has shown me the areas where I resist His love, the corners I refuse to let His grace melt and soften. He has humbled me- wiping away the snow to show me where my heart has really been in relation to Him and to others. It can be a little disappointing when you first see the sun spreading its rays over the earth- then step outside to cold air---still. In the same way, it is not easy when God first exposes the muddy, matted ground of my heart for what it has been. Dormant during this wintry season, slowly hardening into ice-ridden bits.

But the LORD is my spring. He is giving me hope that my heart will be softened and not just that, but will be transformed and renewed into a redeeming bloom. That the broken areas will be fertile and bear fruit once more. That He is slowly but surely- as is the arrival of this season- completing the good work, albeit hard work, that He has begun in me. He is faithful- always faithful.

"For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

The wild animals in the fields will thank me,

the jackals and owls, too,

for giving them water in the desert.

Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland

so my chosen people can be refreshed.

I have made Israel for myself,

and they will someday honor me before the whole world."

-Isaiah 43:19-21