The seasons of our lives are ever changing.  Some of them come and go on a rather consistent schedule, ready to usher us into the next stage. But then there are other times, times when we’ve been stuck for so long in the same spot, times when winter seems to be the only season we’ve ever known and we begin to lose hope of ever seeing green ground again.

In expectation of what was coming, we did our best to prepare for it. We dressed ourselves in winter parkas, donned our fur lined boots, pulled tight the drawstring of our hoods under our chins, and slipped into our wool mittens.  We settled in for a long, cold winter and lost all hope of spring.

But have we missed the signs of a new season approaching? Do we need to get up off of the couch and press our faces to the window once again? Will we still see snow or will we by faith believe there are tiny green shoots getting ready to push through the ground?

During the cold we layered to protect ourselves from the elements but now we realize that we’ve also layered over our hearts. Maybe a bit too much? We have unknowingly suffocated our heart with layers of doubt and unbelief. Layers that were initially put on to protect us have now paralyzed us.

And God is whispering to us to take off the layers.

He is declaring it spring and asking us to dress the part. It’s time to shed the layers of the past and get ready for what’s coming. He’s wanting to exchange our heavy winter boots for a pair of summer sandals, our disappointments for his hope. 

I’m in a bit of a change of seasons myself lately.  It almost feels as if things are shriveling up and dying to make room for new growth. Tiny green buds are starting to poke through and as beautiful as they are, they are also a bit startling. Like the whiteness of my legs after a long winter. But just because it’s a bit surprising or shocking to us, doesn’t mean it wasn’t part of His plan all along.

The very definition of season is a time characterized by a particular circumstance or feature. And it’s as if God is whispering to us that those circumstances of the past aren’t going to mark us anymore. The season we were once stuck in isn’t going to define who we are.  He’s leading us into a new time, a new season that has its own unique features, if we will just learn to let go and trust Him.

Seasons are just that, seasons. And no season was meant to last forever. So if you’ve been stuck in a season of your life for a long time now, maybe it’s time to believe by faith that your new season is coming. It might be time to start dreaming about what that will look like, to start prepping your heart for what’s ahead. Perhaps you need to walk to the window, press your face hard against the glass and ask God to give you eyes to see what’s really going on. The last time you checked, it was still winter out there. But maybe, just maybe, this time when you look you’ll see signs of spring.