Spring is not in the air

The pang of a long winter was beckoning me to the window. Whisking back the curtains, the great anticipation of seeing the promise of an early Spring soon disappeared.

What? Snow and ice were flying!

Hopeless. That's the way Spring was looking this morning. Even a hot brew of tea poured from the china teapot did nothing to help disappointment.

The little Magnolia tree, always first to bloom, was covered in white. The dried up bird nest nestled on a branch looked brittle and cold, offering no soon hope of warmth for the mama Cardinal's eggs. Looks like mama and I were going to have to wait.

Wait. There is always a wait of some kind thrown into the mix of things.

Haven't we all felt like this? Pushy circumstances press in to dictate things we don't really want, making it difficult to see beyond the long, cold winter of life. Anxious for a change and warming of our heart and soul, yet, we find ourselves in the wait.

It's hard to imagine in just a few weeks the little Magnolia will be glorious with bloom. It has to wait for the perfect timing of its Creator. Tiny buds that are still hidden from the snow will soon open up to share their beauty. The nest that made it through the winter will be just right for a home to baby Cardinals.

But it's the waiting. Always the waiting that drains hope and expectations of future.

But beyond that wait ... change is coming in its perfect timing. Just as sure as the little tree will bloom again and the nest will fill up with life, there is a hope for our future that God has waiting for us. In His perfect timing. A change will come much like the changing of seasons. And we can count on it.

For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

Janie is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached at thewritedifference@outlook.com.