After Winter comes the Spring – Nature’s Message of Hope

Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. (Song of Solomon 2: 11-13)

As I watch new life springing up from the cold harshness of winter, I think of you, my readers, and some of the stories I’ve heard from you through the years– story after story of new life breathed into marriages that once appeared to be dead.

It’s the same, familiar story God brings to us when the world seems dark and hope seems gone. For just when we think the winter will never end, we see a small sprig of green pushing up from the earth, and we realize hope has not disappeared but lies dormant beneath the soil of our dreams, waiting for the sun to shine—waiting for the light to bring it forth.

For after winter, we know the spring will eventually come.

Springtime brings us a wonderful reminder that God is not through with us or our story. For just as He is always at work beneath the surface of the soil, He is always at work beneath the surface of our lives to burst through the crust of disillusionment to bring beauty when we least expect it.

If we can plant even that tiny seed of faith into the soil of our heart and turn our face to God, He will help us grow it into something beautiful. He promises to bring “beauty from ashes”(Isaiah 61:3) and hope from the dreariness of our pain.

Doing A New Thing in the Wilderness

I love the words of Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

This was a scripture God gave to me—no, I should say this was a promise God gave to me—even at a time when I saw little hope for my marriage to survive the separation that had torn my marriage apart.

I was sitting in a church service and an elderly missionary was speaking. He began reading from the Bible, and when he spoke these words, they jumped out at me and lodged in my heart. I knew these words were for me, and I wrote them down. It was one of the turning points that brought me hope. Although nothing had changed between my husband and me, God gave me a promise that nourished my heart. God was at work behind the scenes. Beneath the hard winter of my days, God was preparing the soil for springtime.

Two years later our marriage was reconciled.

God’s Stories Woven through Nature

Jesus often used analogies from nature to speak to us in the Bible, and if we’re sensitive to God’s Spirit, we can sometimes see these analogies ourselves when we gaze into the wonders of the creation He gave us — sometimes in our own backyards. Often, when I spend time digging in the dirt, trimming the bushes, or planting flowers—even when I’m pulling weeds—God whispers His truths into my heart, weaving them through nature and bringing them to me as gifts. Once unwrapped, they open my mind and heart to a new hope borne from God.

As spring unfolds, open your heart and mind to the messages of hope God may have for you in the nature He created. When you’re discouraged, spend some time in His Word, then take a walk outside and look around at the miracles God brings to us in nature. Soak in God’s sunshine. Try to remember when He has surprised you with a blessing or a miracle in your own life. He isn’t through tending the garden of your soul. He has more for you. Let Him speak to your heart. Put your hope in Him. I believe you may be surprised to discover how often you can find hope in unexpected places.

If you’re feeling discouraged, my book, Broken Heart on Hold, can be a friend to you by bringing messages of hope that walk with you through the barren valley of brokenness and lift your eyes to the God of reconciliation.