A couple of weeks ago I had a very beautiful and restful few days staying in Gordonton, Waikato, in the north Island of New Zealand. And was blessed to experience a typical Waikato misty, moisty foggy winter morning – still, calm, drizzly and cold, but beautiful as only a winter morning can be.
There is a specific beauty about a winter’s morning – stark trees standing tall without their leaves , drops of moisture on their bare branches, where several birds are taking shelter and singing out their praise in the rain!
There’s a sense of nature being still and waiting. Waiting for when the mist starts to clear and the sun starts to shine through, bringing with it the warmth and promise of spring to come.
Waiting and enjoying winter are not things that come naturally to most of us! In fact it can often feel like it’s just a season of hard work and grey days – especially in those days when we can’t see through the fog of uncertainty, when those winter mists obscure everything and it seems like nothing is growing.
But when you stop to look closely, you can see that underneath the soil, on the bare branches and in the sheltered parts of the garden, even in the depth of winter, there is life to be seen. Roots are still being nourished, new buds are forming, and spring bulbs starting to poke up their leaves – preparing for the scented blossoms that herald spring.
And, just as in the winter garden, our life’s winter seasons of waiting, of mundane and, sometimes, dreary days, can cause us to feel like nothing is happening – that everything is on hold. But if we take time to stop, to be still and to notice where God is, we will find that He is still working. He is wanting to nourish our roots; He is preparing the ground of our lives for new planting, forming new buds of life in the bare branches of our hearts, and bringing warmth and life to those places that, perhaps, seem like they have died.
In Isaiah 43 vs 19 God says, ‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Winter can feel like a wilderness or a wasteland – just hard slog, grey skies and cold foggy mornings!!
But God is at work. The birds still sing, the flowers still bloom, and nature awaits the new life of spring – life that comes from the growth that has already started.
Where do you need to see that spring is on its way today? Where are you feeling that winter has been long and hard? Maybe there are dreams that you thought were from God but haven’t ever been realised? Or maybe some parts of your life have grown cold or dark through neglect or disappointment, through life’s circumstances, or just plain weariness?
Where do you need to catch just a glimpse of what God is doing and where He is planting and growing some new things – things that will blossom in their season as you wait trustingly, hopefully and quietly for God to work His winter wonder in your life?
Why not take a cup of tea with God now and talk to Him about your winter time – and ask Him to show you where He is shining through the fog, where He wants to water your roots, what buds are waiting for springtime to come so they can fully open, and what He is planting for the seasons to come, seeds that will grow, blossom and bear fruit for His kingdom and glory?
Then stop and listen as He whispers His still quiet words of life into your spirit, and allow Him to warm your heart with His all-embracing love – to breath into life His new things – His possibilities and dreams that He has for your life.
Have a Cup of Tea with God 