My group has decided to spend the summer Experiencing God!
I think it's rather appropriate living up in Alaska. I know other people think they live in "God's Country," but I think He made Alaska in His most favorite mood! The mountains here are breathtakingly beautiful, the lakes are too numerous to count, the rivers vary from trickles to raging, and the wildlife is unbeatable. All of these things are just beginning to emerge as the snow slowly melts and disappears.
I think it's rather appropriate living up in Alaska. I know other people think they live in "God's Country," but I think He made Alaska in His most favorite mood! The mountains here are breathtakingly beautiful, the lakes are too numerous to count, the rivers vary from trickles to raging, and the wildlife is unbeatable. All of these things are just beginning to emerge as the snow slowly melts and disappears.
It's actually my least favorite time of year.
I've never liked spring. It's such a tease. You want and expect it to be all flowers and sunshine and it rarely cooperates. Even when I lived in Kansas it was either too short and gave way to the blistering temperatures of summer, or it was simply bleak and dreary. Yes, I'm a bit over-dramatic.
It's way worse in Alaska. It has been a month of melting that reveals the brown and gray of the landscape, a stark contrast to the brilliant white of winter or the all-consuming greens of summer. It's mucky and wet and cold. I know I should be used to the cold, but when you are expecting the warmth, it makes the cold colder. I joke that I "get" to experience an Alaskan winter, which is incredibly gorgeous, but then have to go through a Kansas winter which we call "Break-up." The name is pretty self-explanatory, but this is when all the snow and ice break up and melt. It looks like Kansas in the winter: gray and lifeless. (I liken the bits of green in the fields of winter wheat to the spruce trees that break up the monotonous white and gray birch and aspen trunks.)
All this to say that I'm in such a need for a Spiritual Spring! I'm ready to have my subdued Christian walk burst forth and sprout into something alive! I'm ready to feel the Son warm me and make me grow this summer, and I'm excited about it! As I am a plant person, these types of analogies resonate with me. They are a little bit cheesy, but alas, that is my favorite food, so I suppose it's bound to come through.
Seriously, though, I walked around my yard yesterday when the sun warmed it to a balmy 49 degrees, and began to clear away the old debris around my perennials flowers. Most of these were planted later last summer and didn't have too long to take root, so I'm curious as to what made it through our relatively mild winter. As I pulled the wet and decayed leaves off the bases of the plants, I began to see tiny little peaks of green emerging. I would position myself so I could kneel as close as possible without setting myself upon one of these hidden gems and bend down to get as close of a look as I could. The sun was warming the mulch and I could smell the moist earth mingling with the threat of mosses and leaf mold. It's a fabulous scent to this nose. I began my daily walk-throughs a while ago when the first beds were appearing with little to no signs of life. Lately, our weather has been warming, so my frustrations are easing and I'm seeing more and more. A couple of times, I would uncover the expansion of a plant, and that usually makes me ecstatic! I'm fond of the "bullies" and have little use for flowers that take an exceptional amount of babying. I love to see my little leaves poking up through the barely warmed soil and I can't wait to see how much bigger it will be this year! They always get bigger, you know. And the bigger they get the more spectacular they are, but if they get too big, they can start to die out and need to be divided.
I can't wait to grow this summer! I heartily dislike the notion that Bible Studies should disband for the summer. In the craziness and fun of summer, I still need growth and Godly women to surround me. I am so incredibly happy that I am not alone! The great thing about it is I feel that I can expect the growth to happen, I am anticipating God to work in me and our group, and there will be no disappointed waiting for "spring" to arrive. I can't wait to see the result! I would even like to see an eventual "dividing." I don't see it in our near future, but could honestly see each one of the members of our group leading a group someday. For now, though, I'll brace myself and prepare to grow and Experience God!
It's way worse in Alaska. It has been a month of melting that reveals the brown and gray of the landscape, a stark contrast to the brilliant white of winter or the all-consuming greens of summer. It's mucky and wet and cold. I know I should be used to the cold, but when you are expecting the warmth, it makes the cold colder. I joke that I "get" to experience an Alaskan winter, which is incredibly gorgeous, but then have to go through a Kansas winter which we call "Break-up." The name is pretty self-explanatory, but this is when all the snow and ice break up and melt. It looks like Kansas in the winter: gray and lifeless. (I liken the bits of green in the fields of winter wheat to the spruce trees that break up the monotonous white and gray birch and aspen trunks.)
All this to say that I'm in such a need for a Spiritual Spring! I'm ready to have my subdued Christian walk burst forth and sprout into something alive! I'm ready to feel the Son warm me and make me grow this summer, and I'm excited about it! As I am a plant person, these types of analogies resonate with me. They are a little bit cheesy, but alas, that is my favorite food, so I suppose it's bound to come through.
I can't wait to grow this summer! I heartily dislike the notion that Bible Studies should disband for the summer. In the craziness and fun of summer, I still need growth and Godly women to surround me. I am so incredibly happy that I am not alone! The great thing about it is I feel that I can expect the growth to happen, I am anticipating God to work in me and our group, and there will be no disappointed waiting for "spring" to arrive. I can't wait to see the result! I would even like to see an eventual "dividing." I don't see it in our near future, but could honestly see each one of the members of our group leading a group someday. For now, though, I'll brace myself and prepare to grow and Experience God!
I love how I asked in my writing just this morning at Higher Grounds if I am the only one feeling this, and two of the blogs that I've gone to this morning, speak along these lines. I love how God reveals things to me, and thank You for sharing what you are sensing.
ReplyDeleteLovingly,
Yolanda
Melissa, I think that your spiritual walk is already bursting forth and sprouting.....God is using you! Good post!
ReplyDeleteGrow!? Francie is right! God is about to explode you. You've been growing all winter.
ReplyDeleteIf you want some incredible words to grow by, David Platt at the Church at Brook Hills will rock your world. Look up his church, then on podcasts, listen to the "Radical" series. You won't be the same.