I love that the weather has begun to grow warmer. I have always loved the seasons and can’t imagine living someplace without them, though I think someday I probably will have to, even if for awhile.

I think the seasons are incredibly fitting to our lives. Sometimes we feel stuck in a rut, feels like we’ll never pull through, and we wonder how new life could ever come around again. It’s like the trees that change. They are so full of energy and life in the summers, gorgeous (but dying) in the fall, completely frozen and almost dead in the winter, and then they start all over again in the spring, more vibrant than ever.

I want to be like that. And I do feel like God is able to make that happen. Cody and I are on the verge of accomplishing some things we really wanted to accomplish before considering anything…travel, missions, moving, kids…and it feels good to know we are actually doing it (had LOTS of help from God, that’s for sure). In the midst of it, it was really hard for me to see progress and feel useful and have a purpose. But now that our winter is seemingly ending, I feel excited for what may come next. I want to be as vibrant as those trees, who have come so far that you wonder how life sprung out of it again. I appreciate the symbols God places all around us to remind us of growth and change and goodness.

We are surrounded by wonderful friends, in and out of state, have amazing families, and are learning life doesn’t have to look the way we think it should look for incredible things to happen.

And the biggest thing, we love and serve a God for whom all things are possible. I don’t feel that very often…in fact haven’t been feeling it most days lately…but sometimes I get a sneaky feeling He’ll do the impossible anyways. And I’m glad He will despite my own doubts and stubborness and refusal to see Him…

Lately I’ve seen Him in my husband, my parents, the faces of my friends, the laughter and talk of children (Ok, Eli is downright hilarious), the SUN (thank you GOD for making the sun shine on Indiana soil again!!), my puppy’s snuggly and protective disposition, books, words, prayers, music, plans, conversations, safety, etc. May Satan not steal our joy by making us feel guilty for having so many blessings, but let us relish in them. God is an overabundant, excessive, and crazy kind of guy. And I’m sure He’d be disappointed if we didn’t wear out all his gifts like a favorite blanket. Why else would He give them?

I’m still busting out of my winter bark and frozen branches, but I have found a tiny seed of hope that some great things are coming up.

(One of them being the end of my work day and the weekend!!…hey, baby steps…)

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
       reap the fruit of unfailing love,
       and break up your unplowed ground;
       for it is time to seek the LORD,
       until he comes
       and showers righteousness on you.  ~hosea 10:12