Oh, How I Long for Spring!

“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” Psalm 5:1-3

Living in the mid-west means winter could last about 6 months. Spring is always on our minds even if we love winter.

Oh, how I long for spring!

I have always been the person who looks out any windows. I look out at the sky, the trees, the birds, and just to look out! :oD But as February and March draw on, I start to look out for any signs of spring bulbs coaxed up with the rays of the sun. I know it could be one or two months before the bulbs really come up and bloom, but it is the looking and the anticipation that bring me such hopes of spring.

Spring: new life, renewed life, brand newness, clean, clean start, repentance, breath of fresh air, new anticipation, renewed anticipation, renewed joy,…..just joy!

Spiritually speaking, oh! how I also long for spring! In the desert of a painful tragedy the winter goes on and on. It is bleak and cold. It never ends. My eyes are always looking, looking for spring! Oh, how I long for spring!!!

I know the LORD is working. He is not surprised or wringing His hands. My tragedy did not slip by Him. My pain does not go without His notice. I am always looking. I am looking for something new, something that will mean the winter will be over soon and that breath of fresh air with spring will be here at long last!

If you are in the midst of a never ending winter of pain and you long for spring……continue to seek the LORD’s face. He hears you! He never wearies of your cries. He collects all your tears and if you allow it He will use you in your pain to do great things for His glory!

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalms 32:7

Good news! I looked out of my window today. The sun has coaxed my farthest daffodils to poke up about two inches! :oD I can actually see that spring is coming….more importantly, Biblically speaking, I can know that my bleak winter days will someday break open to brand newness.

Look out your window---what do you see in the LORD?

School of suffering

This quotation was on The Berean Call email on March 3/09 (http://www.thebereancall.org/)
I thought it would be of encouragement to you.

"Are we learning love in the school of suffering? Are our hearts being mellowed and deepened by the summer heat of trial until the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance-is ripening for the harvest of His coming, and our sufferings are easily borne for His sake? This is the school of love, and the lessons make Him unutterably more dear to our hearts and us to His. In this way only can we learn with Him the heavenly charity which suffers long, and is kind. We see that the very first and the very last features of the face of love, as delineated in Paul's portrait of it (1 Corinthians 13), are marks of pain and patient suffering-suffers long, endureth all things. So let us learn in the school of love to suffer, to be kind and to endure all things. Surely it will not be hard to love through every circumstance when it is the heart of Jesus within us that will love and continue to love to the very end. I want the love that suffers and is kind, That envies not nor vaunts its pride of fame. Is not puffed up, does not discourteous act, Is not provoked, nor seeks its own to claim. "
--A.B. Simpson