Spring.

I live in Southern Ontario, which means that this season can be a brutal one, particularly because of the weather that winter brings. Freezing rain makes it dangerous to drive to the places we need to go. Piles of snow make walking around town much more difficult than it ever should be. On top of all that, you can always count on the wind to take the temperature down a few extra degrees and chill you right to the bone. It’s the season of frozen nostrils, penguin walking, and slow driving. And it’s getting pretty old if you ask me. This has been my winter so far.

Except for today.

While snow still covers the ground, and it’s still much too cold to go outside without your toque, today the sun was shining. As I walked to my class I heard birds chirping, which reminded me of the thing we can so easily lose sight of in the midst of all this cold, dreary weather:

Spring is coming.

This idea not only excited me because of the thought of finally feeling warm again, but also because it was a good metaphor for what was going on in my heart. I feel like I had definitely been going through a spiritual winter this last season of life. My life felt like it was at the mercy of something beyond my power, much like the weather. I was subject to the choices others made and the things they said, and I had no control over that. I let each situation that hurt me bury me like the grass in the winter. I felt helpless and saw no end to this stressful season. I couldn’t seem to find my shovel, my way to get out of the storm. But I would not have to stay there forever. Slowly but surely, like the sun beginning to peak out from behind those clouds this morning, my Father has been drawing me back to Himself.

Now, the seasons don’t change dramatically overnight; it doesn’t go from blizzard to sunny day immediately. We have spring and fall. And while I don’t think spring in itself is all that great, it is a sign that summer is coming. It signals that this winter won’t last forever, no matter how much snow fell this year. My spiritual spring came as most Ontario springs do, beginning with that initial sign of hope that slowly emerges. Slowly, Jesus was calling me back to His arms. The blizzard wouldn’t stop Him from coming for my heart.

Slowly, more people began to speak encouragement into the hard situations.

Slowly, His truths became more clear and real.

Slowly, I was able to lean into and act out of His truths.

Slowly, spring came.

I love the passage in Song of Songs 2 that says, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come” (NIV). The man is calling his lover into spring. It is a beautiful picture of change and new life. That’s what Jesus came to do, to draw us out of spiritual death and fear and into new life.

Spring has sprung, my friends—rejoice!

words by Breanna Maier and photo by Kailin Richardson