With spring finally in the air here in Michigan, the sunshine and warmer morning temperatures beckoned me to an early morning walk.  Our winter was long and cold.  The grass just greened up about a week ago.

I walked today without headphones and the distraction of music or narrated books.  I wanted to hear nature and to soak up God’s creation.

I am always amazed after a long winter of dry, frozen ground and gray skies and terrain, how life seems to spring from nothingness.  From my barren dirt flower beds poke the green tips of dormant plants, reaching for the warmth of sun and soaking up spring rains.  Trees and shrubs that stood all winter like stick skeletons are now fuzzy with buds as leaves and blossoms erupt.

There was the chirping and tweeting of all kinds of birds.  Oh how I would appreciate having my son-in-law Andy with me today to identify them all!  I did recognize the cooing of mourning doves and the rapid high-pitched jackhammer sound of a woodpecker.

And then…

I saw the red cardinal.

People say that the sighting of a red cardinal means you are being visited by a loved one who has passed away.  Yeah – well – that never yet happened to me since Amanda passed away.  It happened today and I’ll take it as Amanda joining me on my first spring walk! 

And it all made me think 🙂

 

Like a long, cold, lifeless winter, we all find ourselves stuck at times in a life situation where things are not going well.  We may be depressed, struggling with a relationship, giving up on finding a job and paying the bills, tired of caring for loved ones, or just plain tired of the path we are on.  The seasons always seem to evolve and Spring arrives eventually with its warmth and new growth.  Such it is as we, too, can survive the “winters” of our lives and enjoy a springtime of new hope and peace through Christ.  Sometimes the winter may seem long, but beneath the lifeless frozen dirt, life hovers.  If we can wait patiently, God in His perfect timing will guide us out of our winter to the warmth of spring and His “Son shine”.

It’s been a long cold winter for Ted and me – 7 months since Amanda died.  But it was definitely spring outside today:  the birds, the blossoms, the sound of grass being cut.  Ted and I think of Amanda every day with memories that bring both tears and laughter.  Perhaps Amanda joined me today on my walk to remind me to leave winter behind and to enjoy the sunshine and the laughter more.

just Laurel

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,