spring awakening

Spring is such a beautiful season... it comes just when you need it. After the desperation of February winter blues... March rolls in fiercely and brings hope along with it. A hope that will not be extinguished by a late snow, for we all know now, regardless of the weather... that Spring is coming.

The temperatures rise, and so does my spirit with the return of the sun. I begin to thaw, as I feel beams of sunlight caress my face while riding in the car. Tim and I opened our windows over the weeekend and let the wind banish the stale air from our apartment. I'm excited for the first day I venture out in shorts... even if I put on jeans again in defeat.

I have been pondering recently how Spring may come not only to the physical, but to the spiritual as well....

God has been showing me a lot of things lately, things I don't like to think about. I have had to surrender a fight to Him, had to look my prideful self in the eye and question my actions, and confess that I have idols that place I before Him. It hurts to recognize the places in my life that I still need grow in, it would be easier if we didn't have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling wouldn't it? But God's grace still covers me, and He can change the hardest parts of my heart.

These cold places in my soul are thawing out, and I feel the awakening. God wants to bring Spring, not just to my physical body through warmer temperatures and sunlight.... but to my heart.

Jesus, awaken my heart, revive what is dead in me. Let me love You with all that I am, and love others with Your love. Please fill me with the hope of Your kingdom, and let me share that hope with Your loved ones. You are beautiful, and I love You.