Winter is on its way out and spring is on its way in. I saw green buds on a bush  yesterday. Today I saw a fat robin on our front lawn. Warm winds melt snow and the songbirds are returning to Colorado! Yeah!

Spring is coming, but not fast enough for me! My heart longs for the change to happen more quickly. I find myself looking for it every day.  Like an on-off switch, I wish one could simply flip it up and the new season would shine in. Instantly!  The old gone–the new–fresh and beautiful, ready for us to enjoy!

How I wish this were true not only with the seasons, but also of real  everyday life.  Our Heavenly Father has another plan however–a better way.  His pattern for change is gradual.  Each season of life coming in a well planned cycle. We are all part of the rhythms of life and thus, we must wait patiently for these transitions to happen. We see these transitions/patterns in diverse ways: Pregnancy, birth, growth: Illness, healing, recovery: broken relationships, heart wounds, pain, healing, new hope, friendship. Cycles. Seasons. Transitions. Life.

Each of us have experienced these patterns at one time or other; one way or other. I  recently went through a difficult transition in my life and the circumstances surrounding it  caused me a lot of emotional pain. I felt broken, isolated and on some days, almost hopeless. I experienced winter in my heart!

God in his mercy and love  allowed this season in my life to be relatively short, and change,  like the onset of spring began to whisper hope to my cold, fearful heart. I am just beginning to see the winter of  my soul morphing from sadness, depression and grief to one of joy, hope  and new beginnings. The promise of a new season  beckons us all. And from experience, I know that it will happen–even though, for most  of us it seems to come way too slowly.

I wrote the following poem as a reflection of these seasons that come into our lives–but particularly when we feel we are stuck in the winter of the heart–that place where  for a while our heart and soul feels cold and bleak–almost dead. Maybe your experience is vastly different–but this is how I felt at time.

Cold—

Wet—

Dark—

Unpredictable–

Changing from day to day

Winter reveals the rawness of life–sometimes lasting way too long.

            Trees stand bare in the harsh, cold wind.

                        Grass and flowers wither and fade, buried beneath a layer of snow.

                                    Skies, gray and brooding,

A thin ribbon of color on the horizon hints at what comes next–with the cold.

In this life we live

 We too, pass through seasons.  Some may be called the ‘winter of the heart’,

                      Where  storms blow in without warning.

                                    Dark; uncertain; fearful horizons stretch before us, bleak and unpromising .

Wary we run to the security of our self-made walls, insulating us from the cold world outside.

Spring,

            Summer,

                        Autumn,

                                    And Winter—each season in its turn comes and goes.

The Lord God has set these seasons in motion for His good purpose–and ours.

We rejoice in some more than others.

Yet, the gift each brings is unique, equally rich in its yield.

                        Spring begins with the promise of new life;

                                   we look forward to what it may bring with eagerness.

                                    Summer comes softly, bringing  sweet smells, warm breezes and blossoms of promising fruit.

Autumn is the time of harvest, reaping what was sown and grown;

This is  when treasures are measured and stored for future use,

Keeping us full and warm during the cold days of winter–

A generous gift from the seasons of the past.

What  treasure  have I stored up to nourish me during the winter of my  heart?

Linda Bridges©2012 (unpublished)