Spring is coming

It looks cold and it is. Ice crystals cover everything in sight after a heavy fog rolling into below zero temperatures. It’s the middle of winter but spring is coming, I know it!

I couldn’t help but stay awhile by the side of the lake shooting various pictures. I somehow relate to these old cattail. They are battered and losing their stuffing. They are past their prime but standing tall in this winter adornment. Spring is coming and new life will spring up around them as they fade with time.

I know that God is not done with me yet and like the old cattail I have a lot of seeds to sow. Yes spring is coming.

I drive by the bog flats on the way to the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi and am in awe at how thick the frost crystals hang on the tamarack. Most have lost their yellowed needles but I know that it’s very temporary with the blue sky and the sun always wins when the rays get through. It won’t be long and spring will come. I have faith; based on the past that the future will see spring come even though I haven’t seen any signs yet.

When I know something is true and I finally see actual evidence I  almost get tears in my eyes. I loiter awhile and enjoy the moment. Fresh buds with a few ice crystals of their own will soon have leaves. Spring is coming. Hope is in the buds.

No matter how hard things have been, spring is coming. No matter the hurt or staleness of life, spring is coming.  I could say “it always comes” but someday I will be wrong. Someday I will be like that old cattail ready to go to seed rather than like the twig full of buds. Then what?

The frost created a fairy tale setting. I will admit to being giddy with the camera as prisms of light covered what is always there and drew attention to the smallest of normally unnoticed detail. I know the feeling of being just a detail in life. I also know the assurance that no matter what happens there will be buds for tomorrow.

After seeing the small budding twig I had a heart to heart talk with God. Some call it meditating, some an existential experience, some call it being one with nature, and some think it’s crazy. Me, I would opt for crazy were it not for that wild, restless, untouchable  part of me that has buds of hope, faith, and love inside. It’s winter in my life but spring is coming.