Tiny hints of spring

Hints of Spring 🌱

When I was in college, I happily hung a wreath that pretty much shouted SPRING on our front door. A friend came over soon after and remarked about me “rushing the seasons.” All of these years later, I still think of her words. I sometimes ask myself if I am rushing the season I am in. It’s a good self-check.

Truthfully, it was still blustery and cold...February in Lubbock, Texas. We were all still bundled in coats and scarves walking across campus, to class or the University Center for something warm between classes (friends and coffee could both be found there).

Yes, it was technically still winter, and my overly floral wreath may have been a desperate attempt to move into something new. A new season.

Or, perhaps it was an announcement of hope. That, despite what everything appears to be from a distance...the season would, in fact, soon change.

All of these years later...and now it’s January (February right on the horizon) in Sweden. I sit inside with my warm coffee, looking outside and anticipating the new season that will come. In that regard, not much has changed from my 21 year-old self. I mean...I haven’t hung a giant floral wreath (everything is bigger in Texas 😁), but I still love Spring. I still anticipate the beauty that will come.

Sitting in my kitchen throughout these winter months, everything outside has appeared quite brown and dormant (perhaps even dead). But...the season is changing. It will change. That is just how it works. Even as I write this, I hear the gardener outside, digging and reworking the front walkway. Creating a new path.

The sun peeked from behind the clouds a bit ago and I finally stepped outside. I took a walk around our garden to check for signs of life. Because of a relatively mild winter here in Sweden (um, please send more snow!), I could see that even the trees and berry bushes were anticipating Spring!

I had to take steps. It was a bit muddy (and still cold). It was necessary to lean in. But, if you look close enough, you will see a hint of what is to come.

A hint of Spring. 🌱

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19