restorer of lost voices

After the frigid temperatures we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks and being forced to run inside on the treadmill, today was a gift from beginning to end. I had a quiet morning run in the dark and for the first time in weeks, watched the sun rise on the horizon. It was a splendid sight across the fields still painted white with winter. I edited all day overlooking our pond and might have even seen the ice melting, or so I hoped. By afternoon the warmth from the sun begged me to open my window…fresh air for the first time in months! I thought it was a perfect day already. And then my lunch entertainment arrived, my youngest who is home on spring break did some impromptu, country, foot-stomping renditions that had me busting at the sides. He does give me the best excuse to take a time-out from writing. We solved all our problems and then some as we chatted over coffee and soup.

When I finally returned to my editing, I was sidetracked by a picture he had sent me. Actually, I had begged him to share it, and he teasingly said I couldn’t have it. Later it showed up in a text message he sent me.  I could have it for the blog, as long as I mentioned him. Such a ham….if he only knew beforehand that this picture reminded me of snowdrops. I think he was hoping I would mention his new cowboy boots he was wearing as he left tonight, and how good he looked in them.

On a more serious note, days like today remind me of snowdrops. The tiny, pure, white flowers bloom in February or March, and are messengers that announce the death of winter and bring hope that spring is coming! It feels like spring is possible, but the ground is still blanketed with deep snow. I think of the tiny flowers pushing through the hard ground with uncertainty. No promise as they labor their weary way upward that they will meet sunlight, warmth, and sustenance. Yet, they still keep on as they toil upward toward the sunlight.  The fragile, bell-shaped flowers are drooping and bent over,  and the strongest part is their stem. Their pure white color signifying cleansing and breaking free from the pain of winter.

God speaks through His creation. Our winter is ending and spring is fast approaching. He has qualified us to share in an inheritance of His saints.  There is hope and we are God’s messengers to a hurting, dying world. Much like the snowdrop flower, we’d love to keep bending over and return to where we’ve come from. Back to where we are safe and comfortable. Covered and hidden, we are hindered from growth …free from expectations and need for change!

Our God calls us to conquer our fears and to rise up and face the unknown. He wants us to push through the hard stuff, the learning and initiation. He has a purpose for us and has given us a task.  Like the snowdrop that must strive through uncertainty, searching for sunlight, nourishment, and change, taking a chance for growth through the cold winter ground, we must live expectantly. Breaking free with patience and steadfastness, we trust that our God is with us. We take a chance and choose hope like the snowdrop flower. Our nourishment, strength and power come from God. We humbly seek Him and persevere during the hard seasons, and go forth and do His work.

Let’s give thanks for our winter is ending and new beginnings and fresh hope are around the bend.  God’s cleansing and purity are for us and a hurting world. Stand tall and strong; let him be your strength and guide.  Keep looking up, pushing forward, conquering fears, and choosing change!  Flourish wherever He plants you…in light or shade…much like the snowdrop…beauty for the winter weary!

God speaks to us through a messenger of spring…break ground for we are messengers of Hope!

Lily Mae