Spring in Our Souls

Last night I couldn’t sleep. Maybe it was the Dr Pepper I drank around 9 p.m. along with a brownie. Maybe it is all the agenda that was on my mind as I laid there and tried so hard to turn off the things that filled my “to do list” for today. As I laid there and tossed and turned, I found myself thinking of the words to the song, we often sing in church, “oh God, the battle belongs to You. Every fear I lay at Your feet, I’ll sing through the night, the battle belongs to you. I’ll get on my knees with my hands lifted high, O God, the battle belongs to You.” That song just kept repeating over and over in my mind. So I prayed and gave the desires of my heart to Him, as He tells us to do. It was then that I remembered that just yesterday, Randy and I stood in the living room and looked out the window at the tree we planted last spring. Among the dead looking branches were small, yet ever so green little sprouts of new life were beginning to sprout. We had wondered if the roots had gone down deep enough to allow this tree to survive the ice storms we have had this winter. It was then that I realized that the same was true of me this year. Has my roots in God’s Word gone down deep so that despite the storms that have come, my faith has little shoots of new growth? I can just imagine hearing the Lord say, “Trudy, delight yourself in me because, ” Psa 18:19 ” HE brought me out into a broad place, He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

When I think back over the last few years, there were days when it was sometimes hard to see the sunshine of hope and light. But, through it all, God’s promise of always walking through difficult days, with us was so evident. In light of the circumstances all around us, some days it is hard to remember that God is in control, but it is on those days, that we have to stand on His promises and keep our eyes on Him. That grows our dependence on Him , our love for Him, and to lean into His mercy and grace. But it also allows us to see the new growth in us, spiritually. It is not only exciting to see that on those hard days now, my first reaction is different from what it use to be. That God has taught me that He is always there for me. No matter what. Instead of the worry that use to fill my soul, I give it to Him. Instead of anger and bitterness that use to come as my first response to an harsh word directed to me, it is easier now to just pray for that person and ask the Lord to help me reflect His love to them. Am I saying that I always do the right thing, of course not, but I can see that my reactions to things are slowly changing. Are those closest to me seeing new growth in my spirit and has New growth taken place among the hard ground of my heart? If so, it is all because of Christ and the new life that He promises to us. This Spring, may we all be reminded to look for the new growth that can be ours and allow the Son to shine through us to draw others to Him.

Ephesians 1:18 ” Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”