I’m sitting on my couch this morning and there are two dominant sounds reaching my ears; the constant chatter of the birds outside, and the constant chatter of my little one playing on the floor. (He has complete conversations with himself, he’s cool like that)
The sun is shining in the picture window, the birds are singing, the furnace is NOT running. Doesn’t that speak hope and renewal into your heart? Things are coming alive right before our eyes and ears. Everything that has been sleeping and trudging through the long winter is celebrating SPRING!
Isn’t perspective a crazy thing? The beginning of spring and this dandelion is so lovely! Before long we will be going to extreme Pinterest measures to void our yard, and the whole planet of dandelions. Same dandelion, different perspective.
Now, I know it has officially been spring since March 20 ( I just googled it ;)), but this morning looks like spring andsmells like spring. The grass is soft, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, it REALLY is going to be warm. Today is the last day of March and I am reminded of something I wrote on the last day of February.
Everything changes, doesn’t it? It’s so hard, sometimes, to remember that it will not always be the same. The sun is going to shine again. The birds are going to sing. Life is going to be lighter. Nothing is forever (even the things we wish could be).
Not Always February
You know what my favorite part of February is?
It’s short!!
February is a struggle for me, and I bet I’m not the only one. The high today is 12 degrees! 12 degrees, but sunny, ha.
It starts to become difficult to recall the real, warming sunshine. The kind that works its way through your whole body and makes things seem lighter and more hopeful. Everything is a chore when it is cold and snow covered. Everyday tasks wear on me; it’s easy to forget that spring is coming– BUT–I won’t forget. Spring will come again!
Sometimes life can start to feel like it’s always going to be February. You feel like your heart and spirit are trapped in a frozen tundra. You can’t remember the last time the sun was shining, on the inside.
This life is full of icy seasons, for sure.
Everyone has walked through, is walking through or is going to walk through their own personal February in life.
There are things that make it hard to recall the sunny days. Things happen that are completely out of our control—loved ones die, babies get cancer, mamas are in car wrecks, dads lose jobs that are providing for everyone.
It gets cold, not only outside, but in our hearts. We start to feel like it’s always going to be a spiritual and emotional February.
It can be overwhelming.
There will be tears.
We live in these temporary, fragile bodies (and minds). It is easy to forget that this is just the beginning for us, not the end.
This flesh is weak, and I will be glad when I don’t have to fight it anymore. I am also glad that our God knows our struggles. He did not leave us here without hope and instruction.
I’m guessing every person reading this owns the greatest resource available to us. It is much more precious than gold, silver, copper or oil.
It is a supernatural resource.
It is the resource that created the resources.
Unfortunately, it is not being tapped into like it should be. God’s Word!
We own different translations; study Bibles, Children’s Bibles, Teen Bibles, language comparison Bibles, but do we read them? I mean really read them? Drink it up until we are so full that it must spill out in our words, actions and lives.
John Quincy Adams in his wisdom and eloquence left us this:
“I speak as a man of the world to men of the world, and I say to you, Search the Scriptures! The Bible is the book of all others, to be read at all ages, and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice or thrice through, and then laid outside, but to be read in small portions by one or two chapters every day, and never to be intermitted, unless by some overruling necessity.”
John Quincy Adams was wise in his perspective of reading the Word. God gave us His Word for us, for our sake, but He doesn’t make anyone read it. But if you will read it, consistently, its beauty and hope will be what warms your heart on those days that the spiritual temperature is a high of 12 degrees. Let God remind you that you are His, that He never forgets his own—that the sun-shiney days will come again. That these heartbreaking things are not forever, for those who belong to Him.
He tells us in John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
In John 14:27 he says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
I know that things happen in this life that can be overwhelming!
We see these storms on the horizon. We see the waves of circumstance that look like they will surely consume us.
I remember being out in the ocean as a child. I was standing in water (comfortably) up to my chest, but then a little ways out I could see a wave forming, and it got bigger and bigger. I was starting to panic inside, so I ducked under the water where it is calm and quiet. I knew that the waves were breaking all around me up top, but they couldn’t get to me under the surface. This is what God’s Word will do for your soul. The waves of life will come! They will get bigger and bigger until you’re sure you will be overtaken, BUT you can duck under, into His Word. It will be a quiet and calm place for your soul; even though the storms of this life rage on.
When you feel like February is all there is or will ever be, let Jesus remind you again. Let his Word unthaw your heart. I leave you with Christ’s words.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Now, here it is the last day of March! You see? Nothing stays the same! I want to learn to enjoy every season, don’t you? Don’t the hard times make the easy times so much sweeter? Doesn’t the icy, cold winter make the spring so much more beautiful? Today I will drink up what today is. We only get to live this day once, no refunds!
Thank you for taking time to stop by The Modern Mayflower! I am trying to build my reader base and appreciate so much all the people who have shared my blog! Would you be willing to pass it along on YOUR social media outlets?
ENJOY THE SUN-SHINEY DAYS!!