As I have gotten older I have become more and more enamored with the idea of seasons. Particularly with spring. Each spring, nature puts on a beautiful display of death to life all around us. It happens every year. Snow melts, temperatures start to climb, and before we know it, the magnolias and daffodils are blooming. The trees start to have a green haze, the grass begins to grow, and fat little robins start building their nests.
I don’t know about where you live, but in Northern Indiana, this transition doesn’t happen overnight. Often, it can be sunny and 70 one day and snowing the next. I like to call it “seventies to seat heaters.” And yes, that actually happened just this week!
I am a huge believer that life has seasons as well. Sometimes life feels like summer. Easygoing, relaxed, carefree. Running barefoot through the grass and playing yard games to your heart’s content. Other times, life feels like a perpetual winter. Clouds settle in over your head bringing harsh and unforgiving conditions that make you want to hide under your covers all. day. long.
Last year in early spring, my now-husband (we were only dating at the time) and I found ourselves in a really difficult season of life. It was a season that was filled with a lot of fear and anxiety for both of us, along with grief over the loss of a friend and plans for our lives that fell by the wayside. I remember feeling really lonely and hopeless during that time. It was a season of winter for us, and it truly felt like it was never going to end. I also remember that the weather in Indiana was particularly dreary during this time. It was cold and rainy for what felt like weeks, and the sun seemed content to be hidden by the clouds.
One day I was texting with a friend of mine. During our conversation, I said something along the lines of “I feel like winter is going to last forever. Not just this weather, but in my life. I feel like I am in a cold, harsh season of life and I feel like it is never going to end.” What she said to me was so profound and simple. She said “Katlyn, just remember, spring always comes.” And friends, she was right. Spring came- literally, it warmed up and stopped raining. The sun came out, and the grass started to grow. But spring also came in my life. God gave both my husband and I the grace to navigate that challenging season. He renewed our hope in the future, and we have celebrated some really amazing things over the last year.
I find it interesting that again this spring we find ourselves in what feels like perpetual winter. I can’t speak for you, but for me, COVID-19 feels like that. We don’t know when, or how it will end. In a lot of ways, it feels a little hopeless and most definitely lonely. But let me tell you- it will end. How do I know that? Because spring always comes. I truly believe that there is a God who holds our tomorrow that desires health and wholeness for us, his people. Death, sickness, fear- it was never meant to be like this. But even in the middle of it, He is good.
On this Good Friday I am comforted by the story of Jesus, facing the reality of his coming crucifixion. Even as Jesus hung on that cross, spring was on its way. On Sunday, Jesus would have his own death-to-life moment. Literally- he would rise from the dead and, days later, ascend to the Father in Heaven. If that isn’t the ultimate story of spring, I don’t know what is.
Wherever you find yourself today, I want you to have hope. Spring never forgets to come. Sometimes it takes longer than we want it to, but it always comes. So find a blooming daffodil or a fat robin to admire- and remember, spring always comes.
With Joy,
Katlyn
Graphic Designer and Marketing Assistant
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