“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come.”
The Ground
This verse describes a specific, recognizable moment, not the middle of winter, and not yet full summer, but the actual turning point when winter’s grip visibly begins to release. The flowers appear. The birds begin singing again. Something that had been dormant, cold, unproductive, starts, unmistakably, to show signs of a new season arriving.
This is worth naming as a real category, distinct from both the deep fallow winter this book began in and the full harvest still to come. There is a specific, recognizable moment of turning, small at first, easy to miss if you are still braced for winter’s continuation, but real and worth actually noticing when it arrives.
If you have spent this whole season bracing for continued winter, watch today for whatever small signs might actually indicate the winter is past. Not the full harvest yet, but the flowers beginning to appear, the birds beginning to sing, small but real indications that the season is genuinely turning.
Do not dismiss small signs of turning as insignificant simply because they are not yet the full harvest you are ultimately hoping for. The winter being past is itself worth noticing and receiving with genuine gladness, even before the flowers become full fruit.
Tend the Ground
- Look today for any small sign that your own long winter might be turning.
- Receive that sign with genuine gladness, not dismissing it as insignificant.
- Thank God specifically for whatever flowers, however small, have begun to appear.
Prayer
Lord, let me notice the flowers beginning to appear, the small signs that this long winter is turning. Thank you for whatever new season is starting to arrive. Amen.
Carry this today
Small signs of turning are still worth noticing and receiving.