Snow in the chicken wire
by Amy

You can’t trust the weather in Kansas

Winter is the longest season. I love winter. I love snow, when I don’t have to drive on it. The same with ice. And I actually like being cold because I can always get warm. But by the middle of winter, it gets old. Carrying a coat and bundling up is a hassle. I miss my flip-flops and tank tops. I miss flowers and leaves. By the middle of winter I’m ready for spring.

Today’s verse is actually a whole Psalm. I tried to pull out a verse or two, but the whole thing is just so good, I couldn’t pick one. It’s short, though.

Snow in the chicken wire

Snow in the chicken wire - Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS

 Psalm 130

1 From the depths of despair, O LORD,
      I call for your help.
 2 Hear my cry, O Lord.
      Pay attention to my prayer.

 3 LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,
      who, O Lord, could ever survive?
 4 But you offer forgiveness,
      that we might learn to fear you.

 5 I am counting on the LORD;
      yes, I am counting on him.
      I have put my hope in his word.
 6 I long for the Lord
      more than sentries long for the dawn,
      yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD;
      for with the LORD there is unfailing love.
      His redemption overflows.
 8 He himself will redeem Israel
      from every kind of sin.

Life is something like the seasons. We go through periods of growth, where everything we touch blossoms. We go through droughts. We go through periods of change. And we go through times of difficulty when nothing grows and everything looks dead. And in the winters of our lives, it can be challenging to remember that spring always comes again. The seasons are an example of how God sometimes chooses to work in our lives.

As a Kansan, I have learned not to trust the seasons. I’m thankful to live in a state that experiences all four seasons, even though sometimes we experience all four seasons in the same week. But I don’t trust the weather. At all. This winter has been very strange in south-central Kansas. We just finished days in the 70s only to drop into highs in the 30s and 40s.

The main image for this post was taken on February 7. Here’s another image that was taken yesterday, March 7:

Apricot blossoms

Yes. Apricot blossoms. On my apricot trees. I took this photo yesterday, without a coat. Then, overnight, we had a thunderstorm and it hailed. A lot. So it’s likely that all my apricot blossoms are now gone, beaten to death and blown away, and the ones that remained were probably frozen because it’s currently around 30 outside now. This is life in Kansas. As it has been established in previous posts, I don’t like waiting. And though I’m thankful for the warmer weather, I want it to be cold and get it over with. Because then spring can come for real and things can start growing again.

Just like you can’t trust the weather in Kansas, you can’t trust the seasons of your life. Even though you may be struggling through a drought, that doesn’t mean God won’t send rain. Even though you may be cold and alone in the dark, that doesn’t mean you won’t still be blessed. And in the days when everything is going well, you’ll still experienced storms.

The one factor you can trust is God.

We can count on Him. We can put our hope in Him. Because He has proven Himself over and over and over again throughout thousands of years of human history.

So no matter what season of life you’re in right now, don’t let the weather get you down. If it’s unusually cold for summer or spring, enjoy it. If it’s unusually warm for winter or fall, enjoy it. If it’s what you expected, enjoy it. If it’s not anything like what you expected, find a way to enjoy it. Because it will change. That’s what seasons do. And you can trust that God won’t allow anything into your life that won’t help you grow closer to Him.