Daffodils in the Snow

A single charming daffodil said hello to me this morning. The long harsh winter is melting into spring and my heart rejoices to see it. I don't know when I have needed a season of renewal and refreshing more than I do this spring. My tired soul is ready to be awakened to possibilities, opportunities and challenges that have been dormant all winter.

Whether the trial we endure has been physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, when life beats us down we bend our knees and beg for a change of season. Plenty of hardships, however, last for a much longer season than we ever expect. Indeed many last a lifetime. Pain is the universal language, the one thing we all have in common. It might be the death of a partner, a miscarriage, divorce, physical or mental disability, a prodigal child, learning problems, disease or abuse, any number of burdens, but we all have pain.

Does it seem to you that suffering is coming after you with a personal vendetta? I mean, why bother to fight this hard? It's easy to get caught in a downward spiral of lost hope, but denial, rebellion, worry and fear do nothing to empower us in our journey.

I beg you to wait. No matter how big the dragon that you face, please wait. Joy will come. There is a peace that passes understanding available for you in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows and the Lord of Joy. In your weakness and pain, He can make you able to conquer the dragons you face. Open the book of Psalms and express your thoughts. Meet Jesus in the New Testament. Let someone know how badly you're hurting. There is a God who sees you, a God who loves you, a God who has a plan for your welfare and not your calamity.

This has been a difficult season for me, too, and I am casting my burdens on Him because I know He cares for me. In my weakness, He is strong. God is able to do more than we ask or imagine that He can do in our lives. Keep walking by faith and not by sight. Please, don't grow weary and give up.

As sure as the sweetness of daffodils after a harsh winter, the sweetness of His strength in our weakness will appear. He gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and a heart full of praise for the spirit of heaviness that we might be oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. (~Isaiah 61:3)