Rebirth in the Seasons
I live in the Northeast. I’ve visited many places in the world, and I will always choose to live in a place with four clear seasons. Those seasons help me to remember God’s faithfulness and His restoration. I find peace and joy in the colors God has chosen for plants and flowers, bugs and birds. The shades of green from grass, to leaves, to needles (even weeds!) are incredible and the vivid yellows, pink and purples in my garden make me smile.
God is a wonderful gardener! In Genesis 2, the second chapter of book one in the Old Testament, He plants the Garden of Eden. The chapter also discusses the variety of plants He created. In the New Testament, many writers compare God to a gardener, pruning and growing us into who He has created us to be (see John 15:2). However, the most important act God did was the death and resurrection of Jesus. “He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (I Corinthians 15:4).
It was THE death of death; the offer of rebirth for us. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2: 20).
What does this have to do with gardening and seasons? Well, when I see and experience the cold and barren days of winter, with no leaves, no blooms, and no birds, it helps me yearn for the start of spring. In the spring, God brings all that life back to my yard, my neighborhood, and the rest of my physical world. The perennials in my garden are very barely tended by me, but the plants bloom anyway. They push through the soft ground and the leaves bud on the trees. And in a matter of time, God’s timing (amazing how certain things bloom at certain times), the garden is in full bloom, bringing beauty and sustaining life through material for nests, nectar for bees and many other processes I do not understand well.
My long grasses and hostas stay with me through early fall, my daffodils and bleeding hearts push up very shortly after the last frosts, and my lilacs, roses, and peonies multiply through late spring and into summer. They are reminders of God’s faithfulness, God’s love, His ingenuity and most importantly, His ability to bring back to life. His wonder is all around us; enjoy it today and remember His power and love.
