“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come…”
Song of Solomon 2:10-12
Winter clothes and summer clothes. If you live someplace with distinct seasons, you know the difference. Bulky sweaters and warm fuzzy socks for the winter, tank tops and shorts for the summer. Usually there’s a closet swap that happens in the spring and the fall, guaranteeing a few uncomfortably nippy spring days and some sweaty fall nights. It seems like there’s an art to predicting when exactly the last warm day of fall will be- or the first promising day of spring- and preparing your wardrobe accordingly.
Now, don’t start thinking that this is a blog about what I’m packing for the race, and how in the world I’m going to fit it all into one backpack. I’m sure that blog’s coming, but this first blog is not it. This is a blog about me, about the World Race, about transitions. About winter turning into spring.
Winter: few people love it, fewer people miss it when it’s gone. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not that I hate winter (although, if I have to dig out my car from one more snowpocalypse, I just might); in fact, I think that winter possesses a special beauty. But, once spring gets here, who remembers it? Who wants to? All of a sudden, the barrenness starts blooming. It’s like that in life, too. We face personal winters, seasons when everything seems dark and dormant, when the sunlight never sticks around for long. Then something changes, and the darkness dissolves into a new season of light and laughter. Winter is finally gone.
My most recent, and most prolonged, winter involved heartache, lost dreams, failed promises, and facing my own brokenness. It was dark, it was cold, and it was scary. I knew God was there, but, I didn’t really know God. And I still don’t (who can?), but, I know him more and I trust him more. I told God all my doubts about his good intentions for my life, my fears that the winter was proof that he had forgotten about me, and guess what? God’s love won over the doubt and the fear. And I know now that it will always win. Always. I’ve got some stories to tell about God’s faithful love to my heart in the dark times, about how he pulled me from the pit and put a new song of praise in my mouth. After the longest season of winter in my life, I can say that spring is finally here…
…but the wardrobe swap is taking some time. I know that God has spoken the words from Song of Solomon to my heart. Spring is here, and I’m loving it, I really am. God gives me new things to be grateful for every day. But, sometimes, I look around and realize that I’m still wearing winter clothes when God is calling me to welcome spring.
I suspect that as the next year or so unfolds, you’re going to capture a glimpse of what that change looks like here. I can’t wait, and I’m honored if you join me on the journey. It’s time to take out the summer clothes. The winter is past and the time of singing has come!!!
